Joker Яebirth
by bornbored26
Summary: After Aichi Sendou defeated Link Joker, the seed stayed dormant,unable to inflitrate the boy's strong heart. Two decades later, Byakuro, a boy who is uninterested in anything, and find most thing boring changed his view of the world when he started playing vanguard. What's more he awaken the seed and received the power of void, and plan to use it for himself. Co-wrote by Royal9000.
1. Chapter 0 Яebirth

A/N: I decided to repost the story after Royal9000 reeditted all the chapters before. The chapters now are way more easier and interesting to read than before. I will repost 2 chapters a week for the first three week and will continue update on new chapter after that. Thanks Royal9000 for your help.

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><p>Our story begins twenty years in the future. Aichi Sendou defeated Link Joker and Toshiki Kai, and saved the world, and Planet Cray. The Earth entered a peaceful state, and all was well. To honour the world's strongest fighters who resisted the reverse, the strongest of cards were printed widespread. Dragonic Overlord "The End," Blaster Blade, and other such cards became available to all cardfighters.<p>

In this world, the Link Joker Seed did not try to invade Aichi's soul. The power of Link Joker did not work by creating evil in people's hearts, but rather by taking hold of even the smallest bit of sin, and expanding it to fill one's soul. It could not find a chink in the armour to enter Aichi's spirit.

Instead, it became dormant, feigned defeat. Link Joker became known to the public, and became an accepted clan. The taboo of using an evil clan gradually faded, as it did with Shadow Paladins, and soon it was as popular as any other, and it was one that anyone could use without fear of awakening the Reverse. Until now…

**Chapter Zero: Яebirth**

Byakuro was shrouded in darkness, floating through nothingness. He tried to wave his hand in front of his face, but he couldn't see or feel anything. He began to breath heavily, and felt his heartbeat speed up, the only thing he could feel. He tried to scream after what felt like eternity, but not sound came out. His fear began to mount.

Then, out of the pitch-black darkness, a light began to glow. It was a red light, and instead of illuminating the surroundings, it seemed to leech the nonexistent light out of the surroundings, making everything else even darker, if that was even possible. The red light appeared to come from two rings, partially cracked, circling a black orb in the center of the luminance. Byakuro leaned forward to get a closer look, and thought he could almost see a dragon-esque figure in the darkness, leering back at him…

"FUJIWARA-KUN, WAKE UP!"

Byakuro let out a surprised yelp as the black-and-red rings were replaced with a close-up vision of his math teacher's face, a scolding look on her face. He blinked before his eyes took on a half-lidded quality. "Sorry, Satomi-sensei, did I fall asleep?"

Satomi-sensei, the homeroom and math teacher of Byakuro's class, nodded, still leering at him. "You can't keep falling asleep, Byakuro. I know you're smart, but natural talent will only carry you so far, especially once we reach the second semester. " Her leer took on a sinister quality, and although Byakuro remained emotionless, his self-preservation instincts caused his skin to erupt into goose bumps, and a chill went down his spine. "If not, I can't guarantee you'll have a pleasant rest of the semester." Satomi-sensei was known for being very kind and caring (beautiful too, although Byakuro wasn't concerned with that), but horror stories were told about what happened to those who managed to get on her bad side. Everyone always paid attention in her class when she was teaching for these reasons... All except for one student.

Seeing that her threat had no visible effect on the emotionless boy, Satomi-sensei held up a patronizing finger. "Fujiwara-kun, you really should pay more attention in class. I have been receiving complaints from other teachers concerning your behaviour. You always doze off during all your classes except for P.E., and that's not ok. I know you're smart, but you also need to pay attention to the classes. It's for your own good."

Byakuro yawned. "Ok, I'll pay more attention in class," he lied easily. He had no intention of paying even the slightest bit of attention to any of his classes. When he saw that his (rather unconvincing lie) had no effect, he sighed. "Sensei, please continue teaching. Nothing you say can change what I think, so you shouldn't waste so much time on me, and should focus on the ones that you can help. No matter what you say to me, I will always be bored and sick of doing the same things over and over each day."

The entire class gasped at Byakuro's straightforwardness. No one else would ever dare invoking Satomi-sensei's wrath out of fear for their health, but Byakuro managed to keep a bored monotone the entire time. He even punctuated the sentence with a yawn and a rubbing of his eyes, to prove just how little he cared.

The teacher twitched and raised her head in such a way that the shadows framed it in a truly frightening manner. "Bored with my class, are you? Maybe standing in the hallway will be more interesting, then! I bet you've never done that before!"

That on its own wasn't supposed to be threatening, until one realized that if any student were found in the hallways during classes, they would be punished severely, even if the teacher ordered it. And at Miyaji Academy, the discipline committee members were brutal. The suspense, hoping no one came along, would be punishment enough to kill any normal person. Byakuro, though…

"That's a good idea, sensei. I've never tried that before. Thank you, sensei." Byakuro stood up, grabbed his things, and walked right past his sensei, who looked like she was about to have an aneurism, and closed the door behind him, before sighing in boredom. "Sleeping, eating, going to boring classes, eating, and sleeping," he said to himself. "Is that all there is? The world is so… dull." He sat down and began to count ceiling tiles—it was no more boring than just standing there.

Byakuro was 169 cm (5 feet 5 inches) tall and had normal build. White hair framed a tanned face and red eyes, and in full defiance of the school uniform, he wore a long sleeve white shirt with long black pants.

Half an hour passed with no incident before the bell rang, signaling the end of school. Byakuro lazily put his stuff in his bag and stood, as his best (and only) friend Ken opened the door to the classroom and walked out, brown spiky hair flopping a bit over his blue eyes. Ken patted him on the shoulder. "Hey bud, how was it, being banished to the hallway?" Byakuro made a noncommittal sighing noise. "Anyways, you mind if I walk with you?"

Byakuro exhaled slowly. "Sure, there's no reason why not," he said. The pair left school, the half-lidded gaze never leaving Byakuro's face.

"So Byakuro, why did you argue with the teacher just now?" Ken asked. "Normally, you just let her go off on you and nod before going back to sleep. Today, though, everyone thought you were being arrogant and obnoxious."

"This how I normally behave, Ken, you should know that the best. I know how I act; you should too. You've been my friend for more than ten years, and I still don't know how you can put up with a prideful jerk like me." Byakuro paused, then continued. "To answer your question, I was bored. I wanted to see what would happen."

Actually, that was a lie. Byakuro was actually excited by the dream. For nights on end now, he had been having that same dream of hovering in nothingness, unable to do anything but float there. Today in class was the first time something else happened, and the mystery and ominousness excited him.

He didn't tell Ken, because the thought of having to explain his dreams to Ken was troublesome, and would probably just generate more boredom in the long run. So, he continued talking. "I'm so bored. I want to do something fun and interesting other than doing schoolwork or eating or sleeping or practicing kendo with my grandpa."

"If you want to do something interesting, how about finding a girlfriend or something?" answered Ken. " I know that the girls in our school aren't your type, but it's gotta be better than boredom, right? And I'm sure your air of mystery and detachment would make you quite the prize!"

"None of them are interesting enough for me to notice them," Byakuro countered easily. "It's as if all of them are the same, with their gossip and giggling. Not to mention they try too hard, studying day and night for tests. They ought to enjoy their life more. I'm sure they have things they like to do, but they forsake them for studying. I find that hard to understand and I dislike them for it," he explained.

Ken laughed good-naturedly. "Not everyone can be as naturally smart as you, bud. You purposely won't study for tests to make it more challenging and thrilling. If our classmates knew that, I bet they'd accuse you of cheating to get that consistent number two spot in the grade." Byakuro just shrugged in response, and the two walked in silence for a bit.

Then, Ken spoke up. "I just thought about something that you can do that may intrigue you, it's a hobby of mine. Want to try it?"

"Ken, you could ask me to do literally anything right now and I would say yes, only because something new would be better than going to practice kendo today," said Byakuro, a hint of snarkiness entering his otherwise monotonous voice.

Ken grinned a wide grin. "Ok then, follow me. I'll show you the place."

After a five-minute walk, the two students arrived at a storefront with a large sign on the front. "Card Capital?" Byakuro asked, doubtfully. "Really?"

Ken snickered a bit. "No, no, it's Cat Capital."

That just caused Byakuro to scoff even more. "Ken, you don't even like animal fur, let alone cats."

That just prompted Ken to pat him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll understand the joke in a minute.

Byakuro then follow Ken's lead and entered the shop, but Byakuro was genuinely shocked to see fifty or so people playing card games.

"A card game, seriously? That is your idea of interesting? You waste my time bringing me here to play a silly card game?" said Byakuro, who seemed to be pissed off. Impressively, his eyes remained lidded the entire time, even with the obvious anger in his voice.

"Hey don't get so angry," Ken said in a placating voice. "I'm serious, Byakuro, this game is fun. I spend my most of my time polishing my skill, and my effort paid off when I placed second in the last Cat Capital shop tournament."

Byakuro's anger subsided as he sighed, although it was more because being angry wasn't really interesting to him, more than because of any calming effect from Ken. "So that's why you ranked twenty-second place last semester," he remarked.

Then he sighed again, and continued in a more acquiescing tone. "But, I'm the one who said that I'll do anything to kill my boredom and I also accepted your offer to come here, so I'll try it out. What should I do first, then? Read a rulebook or something?"

Ken nodded. "That, and you also need to buy a trial deck to get started. See the old guy with green hair and wear glasses over there at the counter? He's the sub manager, and he'll help you pick a trial deck." He clapped his friend on the back. "Welcome to Cardfight Vanguard!"

"So what're you going to do, then?" asked Byakuro.

Ken scanned the players for a moment before pointing. "I'll go watch that match there. A Brawlers vs Eradicators match seems fun to watch. See you later, then," he replied, before leaving to watch the match.

Byakuro watched him for a moment before proceeded towards the cashier where the green-haired man in the apron stood, a cat napping on top of the cash register.

"Good evening," the man said, "I'm the sub-manager here; what would you like to buy? I've never seen you here, so you must be a new customer! We have plenty of different card games for you to enjoy, and the most popular is Cardfight Vanguard." He paused before laughing sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Welcome To Card Capital!" he said with a proud smile. Then the cat woke up and hissed at him, and the sub-manager quickly waved his hands in a flustered manner. "Sorry, sorry! I mean, welcome to Cat Capital!" Pleased, the cat returned to its nap.

The sub-manager leaned in close and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "The main branch is named Card Capital and I was working there before I got stationed to this side branch. The manager, which is Manage Cat over there, strongly insists that the sub branch is named Cat Capital." Byakuro stared incredulously while the man nodded seriously.

Byakuro shook his head, scoffing at the ridiculous joke. He had to admit, though, it was amusing enough, so he would play along. "Thanks, then. Cat Capital it is."

"So what would you like to buy?" inquired the sub manager.

"I like to buy a trial deck for Cardfight Vanguard, and borrow the rulebook for it," replied Byakuro impatiently. If he was going to waste his time on his friend's hobby, he might as well waste as little time as possible.

"Ok choose a trial deck you like here while I go get the rulebook!" The sub-manager said cheerfully, before he placed four packaged boxes on the counter and began rummaging around. "Now where did I place that rulebook…"

Byakuro scanned his options. "Let's see… Seeker of Hope, Brawler of Friendship, Bluish Flames, or Locked Dragon…" He immediately ruled out the first two; hope and friendship were just too cliché for him to take seriously. The other two, though, were more interesting. Personally, he thought the cover arts for both boxes were cool, and he liked both fire and dragons. In the end, though, something just seemed to draw him to the last one. It seemed… Familiar, somehow. "That's my choice, then. I'll take Trial Deck 17: Will of the Locked Dragon."

The sub-manager nodded as he rang up the order. "Alright, here you go."

It was then that the gears of fate began to turn. No one at that time knew, but that choice changed the fate of the world.

Byakuro reached out and touched the deck, and the world went black.

Chapter Zero: End


	2. Chapter 1 Яevelation of the white dragon

Ok, I will start on my second chapter now. Make sure to read the previous chapter before continuing with this one.

**Chapter 1: Яevelation of the White Dragon**

The moment Byakuro touched the trial deck, the world around him melted into darkness. He looked around in fear for a moment, before he recognized the scene. "This is my dream…" He spun, looking around, genuine excitement passing over his face. "Hey, sub-manager, this is some pretty cool special effects! How're you doing this? Does everyone see something like this when they pick a deck?" He frowned when he got no reply. "Sub-manager?" Nothing. He frowned; of course this couldn't be the sub-manager's doing; there was no way to simulate sensory depravation with special effects.

"But if this is my dream…" Byakuro slowly turned around to see the red rings, circling the black orb. Then, the red light intensified, and for the first time, he clearly saw the white dragon that had begun to reveal itself to him before. A malicious grin was on its face, and Byakuro could only stare in disbelief.

"Come here, boy, don't be afraid. This is your destiny, Byakuro," said the mysterious white dragon. Its grin seemed to widen, stretching wider than any smile had the right to stretch.

Byakuro tried to respond, but couldn't manage an words; the shock of meeting a dragon had scrambled his wits for a moment. Slowly, but surely, though, he managed to regain composure. "…You have to be a hologram or something. Logically, you can't exist right now."

The dragon laughed for a moment. "What you are seeing now is not a hologram or virtual image, foolish human. What you are seeing now is one of the top commanders of Link Joker, an agent of Void, ascended to power in order to end existence! I am Star-Vader, Imaginary Plane Dragon!" The dragon lowered its head and narrowed its gaze. "And you, Byakuro, are mine. You have been chosen to wield the power of void, of Link Joker!"

The dragon raised its head proudly, not taking its eyes off the silent boy, and it continued. "You will be given true power of Lock, far beyond the false versions offered by the card game, and the power of reverse as well. You will become the new agent of Void on Earth. Command our foot soldiers, act as our black hand, and follow me to victory, the annihilation of planet Earth!" The beast, Imaginary Plane Dragon, finished with a grand gesture, and looked expectantly at Byakuro.

Byakuro thought for a moment, thinking about what he should do. "So basically, by choosing the Link Joker trial deck, I was given the power to command all Link Joker units and use them to take over earth." He paused, before scoffing. "You must be joking. This sounds more like a silly dream than reality." When the dragon remained silent, as if to mock his disbelief, Byakuro felt a sharp spike of irrational anger, and decided to mock him in return. "Your name is Imaginary Plane Dragon, right? So your initials are IPD?" He grinned an inflammatory grin. "I think I'll call you Pid, for short. Makes you seem more like the Joker you are. Now, cut out the jokes and let me out of here so I can try this card game."

Imaginary Plane Dragon—or Pid, as he was now christened—looked indignant. "This is more than just a card game, Byakuro. By wielding a deck and becoming a vanguard player, you wield the fate of a planet named Cray, a planet very similar to Earth. It is our secondary target for destruction. You may call me…Pid… Or whatever name you like, as you are my equal, but you will not mock our objective. You will become a great agent in seizing this planet. And you will extinguish every last bit of hope. That should alleviate the boredom, should it not?" asked Pid, with a satisfied look taking over its face.

Byakuro frowned for a moment and looked down at his feet. This was too incredible to believe. Five minutes ago, he was mocking the card game. It was childish, it was a waste of time, and there was no chance that he could take interest in it. Now—if he were to suspend his disbelief for a moment—he was being offered a position that more or less amounted to being the harbinger of destruction. He didn't want to destroy the Earth, but the idea that he COULD, if he wanted to… If he ever got angry, or if he ever slipped or lost control… It was… alluring. As Byakuro looked up, his eyes, which up until now had still been partially lidded, opened wide with excitement. "Alright, I accept."

No sooner had he spoken did a bright red aura with black wisps surround him. He felt the power, flowing through him. It faded quickly, but there were small differences that were immediately apparent. Although it wasn't too helpful in the darkness, his senses were heightened, and the overwhelming blackness didn't seem so oppressive anymore.

"So now I have the power of Void or Link Joker or something, huh?" He asked, looking down at his hand. "Interesting, but I will not do as you wish." He clenched that hand into a fist and looked the dragon square in the eye. "You think I will wield this power for you or anyone else? Are you an idiot? I now finally have something that can kill this endless boredom! It will make my life SO much more interesting! I won't become your pawn for taking over the Earth. I don't care what will happen to this planet, but it's still my home, and I need to be alive to enjoy this power of mine." Byakuro could feel the power surging through him, and fought to keep his exhilaration under control, lest he look like a madman. He sighed. "And you, Pid, will let me keep this power, won't you." It wasn't a question. "Even though I refuse to work under you, I'll still keep this… amazing feeling."

The dragon laughed. "There is no worry. You will become my pawn sooner or later, whether you like it or not. All you need to do now is use your power to lock and reverse others, and most importantly, let your thoughts imagine a world where everything is locked!" The dragon faded into the darkness, leaving Byakuro alone with the red rings.

"Making me your pawn, who do you think you are?" He muttered. "I swear, will definitely make all of you and your Link Joker power mine, remember that!" declared Byakuro. "Now I will go and try this card game that can grant me power and learn how to master it. That'll be my first step to escaping this everlasting boredom."

And just like that, the world returned to normal. Byakuro squinted slightly at the transition, but frowned as he looked at the counter. The sub-manager was still rummaging for the rulebook, and the manager was still napping on the register. "Was it all… A dream?" Byakuro asked himself. He shook his head and looked at his hand, trying to grasp that feeling from before, and was rewarded with a red and black aura that surrounded his hand for just a moment before fading. "No… Just because it happened in my head doesn't mean it wasn't real. I can still use it."

The sub-manager chose that moment to hand over the rulebook, and Byakuro sat down to read it. 'I WILL learn how to master Link Joker!' He thought.

Meanwhile, Ken was watching another match. "Go Honest Seeker, Egbert and Full Bloom Seeker, Cedric! Do a legion attack on his vanguard!" One of the participants exclaimed.

"Damage trigger check, please be a heal trigger..." The other person sighed. "Nothing there. I lost again." He chuckled slightly. "You are as strong as ever Ginta," he said.

Ken nodded; he had seen that end coming since grade two. Too much early guarding, especially in a deck that didn't use Legion while facing a Seekers deck, was fatal. He turned around to see Byakuro closing a book and standing from his chair. "Finish reading the rulebook?" he asked. "I found an ok player for you to duel as your first match, if you're up for it."

"Wow, you actually were doing some scouting, I thought you were just enjoying the matches here." said Byakuro, a little annoyed at his best friend for leaving him to learn the game by himself. His eyes had returned to their lidded state, the shock of the Void having left him. "Ken, if the opponent you found also used a trial deck, I wont fight him," he added.

"It's fine. I know that you like challenging things so I was searching for someone who's a beginner but isn't using a trial deck, and luckily, I found one, " replied Ken. "You should thank me. The things I do for you…" He added dramatically.

Byakuro nodded. "I know that I can't beat anyone who's not a beginner, not unless I get a better deck, so I thank you. I think that you know me better than I do," he said, before following Ken to find his opponent.

"Hey, Ginta is your name, isn't it?" Ken called.

Ginta looked up. He had short, black spiky hair and a black shirt, and Byakuro nearly scoffed at the English writing that said "BRING IT ON" in bold, white letters, plastered on his chest. 'At least it's grammatically correct,' he thought. There were too many shirts out there that said completely ridiculous things, but people still wore them because they were 'cool.'

"Yeah, that's me," Ginta said. "You want a fight?"

Ken shook his head and jerked a finger at Byakuro. "Not me. My friend here want to fight you for his first match."

Ginta nodded and turned to Byakuro. "Alright, nice to meet you! My name's Ginta!"

Byakuro's lidded eyes grew cold, and in an arrogant voice he said, "I don't need to know the name of the weakling that I'm going to defeat. I've never even played before, but I can tell that you're nothing but a stepping stone."

"What did you say?!" Ginta said, taken aback by the rudeness.

Ken put an exasperated hand to his head, raking through his hair. "Geez, Byakuro, I thought you might have been a little nicer to the guy. I mean, you don't even know him."

Byakuro ignored his friend and continued to stare directly at Ginta, not blinking or changing his expression. "Do your ears work correctly? I said it right to your face; so I'm not going to repeat myself. I'll only remember your name if you can beat me." Byakuro's nasty streak was acting up again, and he couldn't help himself from adding on, "How about this: loser has to be the winner's personal servant for a week, and even miss school to follow them around."

Ken put a hand on Byakuro's shoulder. "Ok man, I think that's far eno—" he cut himself off when Byakuro glanced back. His eyes were filled with fire, and although they were still lidded, they definitely radiated a passionate spirit. 'It's been a long time since I last seen you with those eyes, Byakuro,' Ken thought.

Ginta growled. "Fine, but you better not chicken out, you loser!" he shouted.

"I have no intention of losing," replied Byakuro with a grin on his face to match the fire in his eyes.

Both player placed their deck and starters to their respective zone and yelled in unison: "Stand up! Vanguard!"

"Quantum," said Byakuro, simply.

"Composed Seeker, Lucius," said Ginta.

Byakuro's turn: "Winners go first. Draw. Then, I ride Thorium. Quantum moves to the back left corner. Over to you."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**5-hand-5**

**0/0-damage-0/0**

**0-soul-0**

**0-drop-0**

**Quantum, empty-empty, empty**

**empty, Thorium-Lucius, empty**

**empty, empty-empty, empty**

Ginta's turn: "Draw. Ride, Seeker of the Right Path, Gangalen! Lucius moves to the back right corner. I call Good Faith Seeker, Cynric to the left. Cynric attacks your vanguard! With its skill, it gains 3000 if I have a Seeker vanguard (10000 to 7000)."

"I guard with my Molybdenum," said Byakuro. (10000 to 12000)

"Fine, I attack you with my vanguard." (7000 to 7000)

"No guard," said Byakuro.

"Drive trigger check, Cerdic, nothing there."

"Damage trigger check, Graviton, nothing there," said Byakuro, imitating Ginta.

Ginta growled at the mockery. "Turn end."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**4-hand-5**

**0/1-damage-0/0**

**0-soul-0**

**1-drop-0**

**Quantum, empty-empty, Lucius**

**empty, Thorium-Gangalen, empty**

**empty, empty-Cynric, empty**

Byakuro's turn: "Draw. I ride Magnesium. I call Radon to right. Radon attacks your vanguard. It has the same skill as your Cynric, but for Star-Vaders instead of Seekers (12000 to 7000)."

"I don't guard. Damage trigger check… Seeker, Loving Healer! There's nothing for me to heal, but the power goes to my vanguard," said Ginta. (7000+5000=12000)

Byakuro was unimpressed. "Magnesium attacks your vanguard!"

"I don't guard," said Ginta. "You need a trigger to get through anyways."

Byakuro flipped the card. "Drive trigger check, and what do you know? A stand trigger." He tapped his vanguard with a pleased expression. "The power goes to Magnesium (15000 to 12000), and Radon stands back up."

Ginta cursed his bad luck. "Damage trigger check… Seeker, Rune Eagle, nothing there," he said.

"Radon attacks your vanguard again, with its skill attack +3000," (12000 to 12000)

"I guard with Messenger Seeker," said Ginta.(12000 to 17000)

"Turn End,"

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**4-hand-4**

**0/1-damage-0/2**

**1-soul-0**

**1-drop-1**

**Quantum, empty-empty, Lucius**

**empty, Magnesium-Gangalen, empty**

**empty, Radon-Cynric, empty**

Ginta's turn: "Stand and Draw. I ride Combined Strength Seeker, Locrinus and call Vladgal Seeker to right. I also call Seeker of the Right Path Gangalen to the back of my vanguard,"

"Shouldn't you call it to the right?" asked Byakuro. Ginta ignored him.

"I attack you with Vladgal, boosted by Lucius. Lucius gains 3000 power due to its skill," (16000 to 10000)

"I guard with Gamma Dile," said Byakuro (16000 to 20000).

"I attack with my Vanguard, boosted by Gangalen," (16000 to 10000)

"I don't guard," said Byakuro.

"Drive Trigger check, Certain Kill Seeker, Modron! The crit goes to my vanguard while power goes to Cynric (7000+5000=12000)!"

Byakuro was entirely unconcerned, and to Ginta's irritation, let out a loud, long yawn. "Check the damage. Draw trigger. Power goes to my Vanguard, (10000+5000=15000), and I draw. Second check, heal trigger. Power to my vanguard, and I'll take back that third damage."

Ginta growled, "Cynric, attack Radon (15000 to 9000)!"

"I don't guard!" declared Byakuro, moving the card to the drop zone.

"Turn end."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**4-hand-4**

**0/2-damage-0/2**

**1-soul-1**

**3-drop-1**

**Quantum, empty-Vladgal, Lucius**

**empty, Magnesium-Locrinus, Gangalen**

**empty, empty-Cynric, empty**

Byakuro turn:

"My turn." He grinned an evil grin. "I ride Garnet Star," As he placed the unit on the vanguard circle, an image briefly filled Byakuro's head, an image of Garnet Star, standing in the center of a ring of Royal Paladins. Each one of them held a weapon upright, but their fear was palpable, and Garnet Star was radiating an evil power, and it let out an almighty roar.

Just as quickly as it had come, the vision left, and Byakuro blinked, shaking his head to get back in the game. "Call Stronghold to left and a Gravitron to right. My Stronghold attacks your Vladgal with a boost from Quantum." (13000 to 8000)

"No guard," said Ginta, moving the unit off the field.

"Gravitron attacks your Cynric. I activate his skill. Counterblast one to give it an extra three thousand power!"(13000 to 7000)

"No guard, again, " said Ginta, glancing nervously at his hand.

Byakuro continued. "I attack with my vanguard, using its skill to give an extra two thousand." (13000 to 9000)

"I guard with Modron and a Rune Eagle," said Ginta. (13000 to 24000) "Even double triggers won't help you there."

"Twin Drive. First check, Berkelium. Second check, Neon. Nothing there." Byakuro added the cards to his hand, unfazed by the lack of triggers. "Turn end."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**4-hand-2**

**1/2-damage-0/2**

**2-soul-1**

**3-drop-5**

**Quantum, Stronghold-empty, Lucius**

**empty, Garnet Star-Locrinus, Gangalen**

**empty, Gravitron-empty, empty**

Ginta's turn: "I stand and draw. Then, I ride Splitting Seeker, Brutus. Using his skill, I counterblast one to search the deck and superior call: Locrinus! I call Cedric to the right."

Ginta held his empty hand over his vanguard. "Now, knights of nobility, stand at attention and aid your brothers. Answer the call to arms and take down your opponents: Seek mate!" Ginta put four cards back into his deck and retrieved a copy of Locrinus. "Legion!" He placed the card next to Brutus and lined up the artwork perfectly, shifting it slightly to make room for both cards on one circle.

Byakuro's eyes narrowed slightly. "So this is that Legion that the book talked about…"

"Brutus and Locrinus, Legion attack on Garnet Star!" Ginta smiled. "Legion Skill activated. I counterblast one to give plus 3000 to my entire front row." (26000 to 11000)

"No guard," said Byakuro.

"Twin Drive, first check, Guardian Law Seeker. Second check, critical trigger! crit to Brutus, power to Cedric,"

"Damage check, first check: Crumble Mare. Second check… Heal trigger. I heal a damage, and the power goes to my vanguard (11000+5000=16000)." Byakuro was very pleased; it was almost as if the cards and triggers were responding to his will, showing up at the exactly right times… As if he was their commander.

But there was no time to be awed, and the pressure was still very much high as Ginta continued his assault. "Locrinus attacks your stronghold!" (16000 to 8000)

"No guard," said Byakuro. Wasting ten thousand points of shield to guard a unit with 8000 power was useless.

Ginta turned his final two cards sideways. "Cedric attacks your VG with a boost from Lucius. He gains 3000 power from Lucius's effect!" (23000 to 11000)

"No guard," said Byakuro, a bead of sweat gathering at his temple. "Damage check… Eagle. Nothing there…"

"Turn End."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**4-hand-2**

**1/4-damage-2/2**

**2-soul-2**

**4-drop-1**

**Quantum, empty-Cedric, Lucius**

**empty, Garnet Star-Brutus+Locrinus, Gangalen**

**empty, Gravitron-Locrinus, empty**

Byakuro gritted his teeth. 'That synergy…' He thought. 'Each skill gives power to the entire field, and bumps up the amount I need to guard with. Not by much, but with every unit contributing, it makes it a lot worse on me. If I don't do something to change the pace of the game, I'm gonna lose!'

Chapter 1: End


	3. Chapter 2 The Яule of Link Joker

**A/N: Another two chapters, hope you all will enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Яule of Link Joker<strong>

Byakuro's Turn: "I stand and draw." He said, grimacing. He needed SOME way to cut down those front row units without wasting his precious attacks. But how…?

"Lock…" said a low, menacing voice. Byakuro flicked his eyes to his left and right, but couldn't see anyone, and it didn't appear that anyone else had heard, so he chalked it up to his imagination. He frowned and turned his attention back to the game, but the voice continued. "The power to helplessly seal units away… Lock is the strength of the Void, to be used by Link Joker…"

Byakuro's frown deepened as he concentrated. Ginta mistook it for nervousness and grinned, but left Byakuro to think.

Meanwhile, Byakuro continued to search for the source of the voice, until his eyes glanced at his vanguard circle and Garnet Star, and an image filled his head once more of the mighty dragon fighting the units that he now knew to be Seekers. This time, though, he could see his vanguard point at a group of them with two fingers and fire two black rings with a malicious red glow into the crowd. The unlucky recipient of the attack shouted in pain before the red rings expanded, captured him inside, and shrunk back down to size, taking him with them. "LOCK!" The dragon roared.

The image ended, and Byakuro gasped inaudibly, mouth opening into an 'o' shape. 'That image… So the cards do have spirits…' He thought. 'It's not just a mental link, I actually command their true bodies in battle on Planet Cray.' His grimace returned. 'Which means that if I'm not careful, it can work both ways. I have to keep my guard up, or Pid can force control and turn me into a puppet like he wanted to…' He chuckled. 'This is so exciting! The thrill of standing on the edge, tempting higher powers but withdrawing before they can catch me… This is one interesting card game!'

"Oi, stop daydreaming and continue. It's your turn isn't it?" Ginta prodded. "You can't possibly need that much time to think!"

Byakuro shook his head to get his focus back. "Right, sorry about that, let's continue," said Byakuro. "I call Berkelium in front of Quantum."

Byakuro held his hand out over his vanguard. "Now, dragon of darkness, tear through time and space to bring forth the invaders from another universe! Make the opponent feel their own helplessness and despair with your overwhelming might: Seek mate!" Byakuro held the pose for the briefest of moments before continuing. "Now, I return four card from my drop zone and search my deck for Photon," he said. "Legion!"

He threw the card down, and he swore he could see Photon nod at him. "Lock will allow you to choose an opponent rearguard and lock it," he heard a voice say. "The locked card is turned face down, and cannot do anything. It turns face up at the end of the owner's turn."

Byakuro nodded in acknowledgement of the voice, which he now identified as belonging to Photon. "The legion skill allows me to choose one of your front row rearguard and a back row rearguard." He pointed in the same manner as Garnet Star had in his vision and smiled cruelly. "Cedric and Gangalen… Lock!" declared Byakuro.

Ginta frowned as he flipped the cards over, and Byakuro clearly heard Garnet Star laughing in his head, accompanied by the screams of the two units. He paid them no more attention; they had told him what he had needed to know, so now he needed to focus. "Graviton attacks your Locrinus," (10000 to 9000). Ginta didn't guard, and moved the rearguard to the drop zone.

"Next, Photon and Garnet Star, Legion attack!" said Byakuro, who fumbled for a moment with the two conjoined cards. (20000 to 11000) "It's hard to rest them this way," he complained.

Ginta ignored him and looked at his damage zone. "Only two damage… No guard!"

"Drive trigger check. First check… Stand trigger. I stand Graviton and give Berkelium the power," said Byakuro. "Second check, critical trigger. The crit to my vanguard and the power to Berkelium."

"Tsk, nothing there," said Ginta, clearly disappointed with his two trigger-less damage checks.

"I'll attack with my Graviton again, but this time to your vanguard," declared Byakuro while counterblasting one to pay for Graviton's effect. (13000 to 11000)

"Damn it!" Ginta cursed as he checked for damage. "Still no trigger!" He placed Egbert in the damage zone, and growled at the five cards staring up at him.

"My Berkelium attacks with a boost from Quantum. With Berkelium's skill it gains 2000 power and my Quantum gains a 3000 boost from the two cards locked cards. Oh, and don't forget that Berkelium also received a plus 10000 from the two triggers. My attack power is 30000," Byakuro boasted with a smile. "Depending on what cards are in your hand, either I win this turn, or you'll end up with no cards in your hand with five damage." (30000 to 11000)

"Shiron, perfect guard!" declared Ginta. He discarded his critical trigger reluctantly, and let both hands fall to the table below, empty.

"Turn End."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**6-hand-0**

**2/4-damage-2/5**

**2-soul-2**

**0-drop-3**

**Quantum, Berkelium-[Cedric], Lucius**

**empty, Garnet Star+Photon-Brutus+Locrinus, [Gangalen]**

**empty, Gravitron-empty, empty**

*[locked units]

Ken, who was watching intently, nodded with approval. "Unless he gets a lucky draw, Ginta's only gonna have one good attack," he mused quietly. "Byakuro's got a pretty good handle on strategy, I have to admit. It's a good play from a beginner with a trial deck…" He frowned. "Except, it was a strategy built around him getting exactly those two cards on the drive check. How did he know to do that? And why did he leave so much up to chance?"

"I stand and draw," Ginta said, shaking Ken out of his thoughts. Ginta growled in frustration and anger as he saw the symbol for a heal trigger winking back at him. "Alright! I'll end this with this one final attack. Go, Brutus and Locrinus, Legion attack! And I activate his ability to CB 1 to give my vanguard and his mate power +3000!" (26000 to 11000) He knew that Byakuro had enough to guard, though, so he prayed that he would have luck on the drive check.

Byakuro yawned slightly, and a small smile crept on his face. "This match is almost over; and so is the excitement. What a shame." He held up four cards from his hand and threw them down all at once. "I guard with Gamma Dile, Apollo Nail, Satellite and Molybdenum. No hope," he said. (26000 to 41000)

Ginta made a 'tsk' noise in irritation, but could still hope for triggers to boost his shield capabilities and help him last until he could get better units. "Drive trigger check, first check… Critical trigger, all effects to my vanguard. Second check… Draw trigger! Power to my vanguard and I draw. (36000 to 41000)" Ginta was initially disappointed at the second check, but was instantly delighted when he drew another trigger, providing him with a grand total of 35000 shield. 'Perfect… Now I have enough to guard his next assault,' thought Ginta. "Turn End. I unlock my units."

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**2-hand-4**

**2/4-damage-3/5**

**2-soul-2**

**4-drop-3**

**Quantum, Berkelium-Cedric, Lucius**

**empty, Garnet Star+Photon-Brutus+Locrinus, Gangalen**

**empty, Gravitron-empty, empty**

Byakuro's turn: "I stand and draw," said Byakuro. "You know, I didn't think you would draw two triggers there. One of them was even a draw, too, so you have two cards in your hand that I don't know. Amazing." Byakuro's voice was heavy with sarcasm and disdain.

"My next turn will finish you off," declared Ginta, fist clenching with anger.

"Don't make me laugh, you won't even get that far." Byakuro closed his eyes. "But, I'll admit the double triggers really surprised me. If I haven't planned to send four cards to the drop zone anyways, I really would have lost just now."

He opened his eyes with a fierce intensity. "End Game!" he declared. "I ride Berkelium!"

"Now, again! Seek mate! Magnesium: Legion!" said Byakuro. But he wasn't even close to done. "Now, I call Pixie Powder to my back center and Thorium behind Graviton. I use Thorium skill to CB 1 to give it 1000 power! (7000+1000=8000)"

Byakuro reached out and turned his cards sideways. "I attack with my rearguard Berkelium boosted by Quantum, Berkelium skill let him gets power plus 2000 when attacking a vanguard," (17000 to 11000)

"I guard with Loving Healer! Your attack is stopped," said Ginta. (17000 to 21000)

"I attack with my Graviton boosted by Thorium. Counterblast one to give Graviton plus 3000 power," said Byakuro. (21000 to 11000)

"Guard with Warning Seeker, Maris and Messengal Seeker," said Ginta while putting two card from his hand to the guardian zone. (21000 to 26000)

"My next attack will end this game," declared Byakuro. "My vanguard Berkelium will do a legion attack with a boost from Pixie Powder!"

"I guard with Maris and intercept with Cedric," said Ginta wiping the sweat on his forehead. Once again, he was reduced to nothing, but he had survi—

"Did you forget my vanguard Legion skill?" Byakuro demanded. "If it's in Legion, Berkelium gains 5000 power when attacking a vanguard!"

Ginta's eyes widened farther than they had the right to. "I forgot about that! I can't guard!" (30000 to 26000)

"Drive trigger check, first check, Radon, second check, heal trigger. Power to Berkelium, not that it matters.

Ginta shook his head. "No, I can't lose to a disrespectful punk like you! I still have a chance!" Slowly, trembling, his hand reached for his deck. "Damage check…" He slowly turned the card, heart beating… "Nothing there, I lost," said Ginta, placing Brutus in his damage zone.

**Byakuro-Ginta**

**2-hand-0**

**4/4-damage-3/6**

**4-soul-2**

**0-drop-3**

**Quantum, Berkelium-empty, Lucius**

**Pixie Powder, Berkelium+Magnesium-Brutus+Locrinus, Gangalen**

**Thorium, Gravitron-empty, empty**

"I win. That was a long match. It was fun. Thanks," said Byakuro in a monotonous tone. Now that the match was over, he felt the dreaded boredom creeping back into his body.

Ken smiled. 'Byakuro was skillful enough to use the Trial Deck to its full potential. It's hard to believe that he only started to learn vanguard a few minutes ago. I can't wait to fight him; everything else is gonna seem dull until I do.' He paused for a moment. 'Great, now I even sound like him.'

Meanwhile, Ginta was pounding the table. "No! I never thought I would lose to someone who's never played before… And such a brat, too!" He looked up, resigned. "You win our bet, then, right?" He shook his head. "Pathetic, me acting like a freakin' butler to rude-boy over here…"

Byakuro chuckled good-naturedly. "You actually took that seriously? Forget about it. I just wanted you angry so that you wouldn't go easy on me. I know that most people would, since I'm just a beginner."

Ginta looked up at him, eyes wide. "You're kidding me!" Byakuro shook his head, and Ginta laughed, both in amusement and in relief. "You're one of the best actors I've ever seen, then! I thought you were dead serious!"

Byakuro shook his head. "No, that was a really thrilling battle for my first vanguard match. I really apprecia-" Byakuro stopped himself when Ginta suddenly clutched his head. "Are you ok?"

Ginta fell to one knee and began to growl in pain, before breaking out into a scream.

"Ginta, what's wrong?" asked the sub manager, rushing over.

"Ahh…It's my head. It's in pain. It's… Ahhhhh!" the boy yelled.

Byakuro suddenly heard Pid's voice, laughing in his head. "Oh, glorious day! The reverse has finally returned to Earth, after so long!"

"What did you do to him?" demanded Byakuro mentally.

"Me? Why, nothing, Byakuro," Pid answered, voice filled with obviously false sweetness. "This was all your doing. He is in the process of becoming reversed, which is one of the powers we granted to you."

Byakuro scowled. "What is the reverse, exactly? What did you give me the power to do?"

"You, as the agent of Void, are free to manipulate this power to make someone you defeated into a mindless slave, but in doing so, you give them unrivaled power. Then, anyone who he defeats becomes reversed as well, and with patience, the entire world will fall under our control. That will be the moment when we invade in earnest," answered PID.

"You say that I can manipulate this power freely, right? So that means I can control these… Mindless slaves, as you call them?" asked Byakuro again.

"Yes. They will obey your every command," answered PID. "Or, you can elect to give back to them some of their free will. Their personalities will be altered, though, and they'll still feel the urge to reverse all who they meet—They are improved, if you will, by the mastery of the Void."

"Can I also undo the reverse?" asked Byakuro, watching Ginta writhe in pain.

"Why would you want to do that? I thought you wanted this power?" Pid responded, genuinely confused.

Byakuro nodded. "I'll take that as a yes." Then, he tried to do something that he would never know how he did; it was all just pure instinct. He focused his mind on Ginta, and on the red power that was infusing his veins, choking his soul, and then, with a mental scream, he shouted, 'STOP IT!' Instantly, the red aura froze, as if it was a solid material, and began to recede. Byakuro nodded, pleased. Ginta sighed when the aura finally faded, but immediately fell onto the ground, passed out.

"So in the end you are just a pitiful, kind, thoughtful human, huh? Pathetic," Pid said with disdain and anger. "I will admit, though," it continued, "I'm surprised you were able to control it. You've really taken to Void well. You will make an excellent soldier."

Byakuro inwardly let out a short, sharp laugh at Pid's assessment. "Kind and thoughtful don't suit me. I only undid the reverse for two reasons. First, I will not do as you wish and simply reverse someone for the sake of you taking over the world. I'm doing this for the excitement, and that means I want to trample your toes as much as I can without getting burnt, and I need to see where that line is. Second, if people who lose to me start losing their minds or acting strangely, I'll get a reputation and no one will fight me," Byakuro explained coolly. "Besides, he is not strong enough to reverse other cardfighters even after a power boost. Look at him, he even lost to me while I'm still using at trial deck," said Byakuro.

"But you were thanking him for giving you a fine match just now, weren't you?" asked the dragon.

"It was a fun match because it was my first time playing. If I thank him, he'll want to fight me again, so he'll surely become stronger in his attempt to catch up. Maybe he'll end up as a useful pawn for me. Who knows?"

This explanation seemed to placate Pid, and he let loose a long, genuine laugh. "Oh, Byakuro, you and I are very much alike. I apologize for doubting your actions; you will certainly become a good agent of Link Joker. Void wasn't wrong in choosing you."

"You're too full of yourself," said Byakuro. Then he cut the link.

Chapter 2: End


	4. Chapter 3 Яivals

**Chapter 3: Яivals**

Byakuro's eyes flicked to the door of the shop as it opened, and a boy with light yellow hair and green eyes entered. He wore Hitsue High School's uniform. It had been just two or so minutes since Ginta fainted, and a small crowd was gathering around, but leaving space for the sub-manager to tend to Ginta. Byakuro and Ken were both standing silently against a wall.

The sub-manager noticed the new arrival and without wasting a second called out to the boy, "Daisuke-kun, come over here and give me a hand, a boy suddenly fainted. Quickly!"

"Ok, granduncle Shin, I'm coming," the boy, Daisuke, rushed to the sub-manager Shin's side.

"I thought I say to call be the sub manager while we're at work," said Shin in a pouty voice. Immediately, though, he grew serious again. "More importantly, though, can you look after the shop? I need to take this kid to the hospital."

Daisuke nodded as he took off his jacket and put on the Card Capital (Cat Capital, Byakuro reminded himself with a chuckle) apron. "Sure, take all the time you need, but remember to pay me tomorrow. It's already the end of month."

"Definitely," said Shin before leaving the shop while carrying a fainted Ginta into a van outside the shop. Two of Ginta's friends, who named themselves as Daiki and Kota, joined Shin.

As the van left, Byakuro let out a massive sigh of relief. That was close. He didn't want to be exposed as the vessel of Link Joker just yet; since he had yet to think of a way to spin the people's perception to his advantage, he had to hide it. "What a relief…"

Ken misunderstood Byakuro's meaning, though, and nodded. "Yeah… I can't imagine what caused him to faint." He jabbed Byakuro good-naturedly. "Maybe it was the shock of losing to such a newbie?" He laughed, but Byakuro let out a scoff. Ken would never know how true that was.

The white-haired boy uncrossed his arms. "Right, now that that's taken care of, I think I can have my second match."

He began to walk back onto the floor, but Ken looped his arm around Byakuro's torso and pulled him back. "Whoa, hey there, bud, I know you're pretty high off your first win, but that was pure luck with the triggers, nothing else. I recommend that you buy new cards to improve your deck first before you continue fighting," he said.

Byakuro removed Ken's arm slowly, and closed his eyes in exasperation. "Ok, so I need to buy some cards first. What cards do I need to buy?" he asked.

Ken thought for a moment before answering, "You should go and buy some better grade 1 and grade 2 cards, perfect guards and another boss unit for link joker. You can also buy some triggers if you don't like playing rainbow triggers."

There was something immensely satisfying about Byakuro's response: In a complete monotone, with a dead look in his lidded eyes, he said, "I LIKE the rainbows." Ken laughed. Byakuro hit him lightly. "Shut up. Where can I buy the cards?"

Ken gestured generally to the entire area. "This is a card shop, what do you think?" At Byakuro's unchanging expression, Ken sighed. "You're no fun, you know that?" He pointed at the counter, at the kid who had called Shin his granduncle. "You can go and buy booster packs from Daisuke over there. He's sure to be a huge help, you know. He has a great memory. He knows practically every skill of every card in every set, and most of them he's only ever seen once. Not to mention, he's pretty good with Link Joker strategy, since it's a really popular clan with both veterans and beginners."

That last part caught Byakuro's attention, and he tried to tap into the still-slightly-alien feeling of the active mental link. When he felt his mind open, he mentally grinned with success. "Hey Pid, is Link Joker something that anybody can use?" he asked in his head.

"I apologize, milord, Commander Imaginary Plane Dragon is currently having a meeting with the other commanders regarding the successful creation of a new member. Therefore, I, a Flash Gun Star Vader, Osmium, was sent to be your guide while the meeting is taking place, Lord Byakuro." The voice was soft and smooth, but had a monotonous feel that made Byakuro sound like that Daigo guy.

Byakuro responded, "That's ok. Just answer my question."

"Yes, Lord Byakuro. Each Link Joker card contain a tiny fragment of the Seed that encompasses our existence. They are mass-produced to increase the chance of finding a suitable agent, and as a result, each card is only slightly aware, and can only awaken in the presence of a wielder of the Void. Others are able to tap into our power and synchronize with us, but non have such a strong link to the jokers as yourself, milord. As a result, Link Joker has become a clan that is widely used, which thus weakens the power of the other non-Link Joker units on Cray." Impressively, Osmium didn't pause for breath in the entire explanation.

"Oh! So that is how I was chosen, was it? The seed was just reacting to me, then…" he mused. After a moment of thought, he continued, "One more question, then. Are other Link Joker users able to become agents of Void?"

"No, milord, it is not possible for our master Void to choose another agent," replied Osmium. "While there are many candidates, only one can be our perfect link."

Byakuro nodded and sighed mentally. "That ruined the fun… I thought I'd be able to fight other agents. I'm sure it would've been interesting to have more than one agent…" Then, one more odd thing struck him. "By the way Osmium, why aren't you more happy? Isn't your clan finally able to conquer Earth?" said Byakuro to Osmium. Well, actually it wasn't, if Byakuro was to do anything about it, but Osmium shouldn't know that.

"The concept of happy is foreign to me," replied Osmium. "Link Joker foot soldiers are mass-produced through the corruption of lower life forms and stripped of emotion. I myself am designated as unit Beta Tango One Seven Zero Three Four."

"That's sad, you are almost the same as me…" Byakuro empathized. Then, he realized that the mere fact that he could recognize his sadness set him apart from rank-and-file units. He was akin to a Link Joker unit with emotions, he realized. No wonder he was a good match for Void.

"…Byakuro, you in there, buddy?" Byakuo cut off the mental link out of surprise when he saw Ken's face close up to his, looking questioning.

"There you are, glad to see you're not brain dead… Again. What do you keep zoning out for?" questioned Ken. The irritation in his voice was evident.

"Does it really matter? I'm just trying not to get bored before my next match," he said. "Now, let's buy cards."

Ken nodded as they arrived at the counter. "Hey Daisuke, we got a newbie here!"

Daisuke kept reading his book.

Ken tried again. "Hey, man, my friend wants to buy cards. You know, help you earn your paycheck?"

Daisuke kept reading his book.

Ken's temple throbbed. "Daisuke, seriously, stop it. You know how much I hate it when you do that. Come one, help me out."

Daisuke kept reading his book.

Ken slammed his fists on the counter. "Ok, man, I know you work here, but if you don't listen to me right now, I'll-" said Ken, threat left hanging.

Finally, the worker glanced up from his book, as if noticing them for the first time. "Oh, it's you Ken," said Daisuke, uninterested, "And a new face, Welcome to Cat Capital! What would you like to buy?"

"My friend here wants to buy new cards for his deck," answered Ken for Byakuro, his temper cooling down remarkably fast. "He's new to the game, so he needs all the help he can get!"

"Which set would you like to buy?" inquired Daisuke politely—much more politely than he did to Ken.

Byakuro's eyes flicked between the two of them for a moment, before he decided that Daisuke was doing it on purpose to tick Ken off. Whether it was because they were just close friends teasing, or rivals, or legitimately bitter enemies, he couldn't say. "I was hoping you could recommend which sets I need to buy because Ken said you have a photographic memory," replied Byakuro.

"I only said that he has a great memory, I don't even know what photographic memory is," Ken interjected.

"Photographic memory is a rare ability that some people have, it allows them to easily remember anything they see even if it is just a glimpse. It must be a useful ability in a card game as you can easily know each cards ability thus are able to counter the opponents' strategy," explained Byakuro.

"Yeah, it's very useful but it still has its own drawback," said Daisuke. Byakuro thought he heard a hint of sadness in Daisuke's voice, but his countenance remained so neutral, he supposed he just imagined it. "If you want me to help you recommend cards or sets, it will not come free," said Daisuke to Byakuro.

"No problem, how much money you want?" asked Byakuro while taking out his wallet.

Ken put a hand over his friend's hands. "I know that money is no object to you, Byakuro, but that's not what Daisuke takes as payment for his advice." Byakuro glanced at Daisuke, a raised eyebrow asking for the response. When Daisuke did nothing but smile back, Ken stepped in again. "Before he gives anyone advice, Daisuke has to get fired up with an intense cardfight!"

"That's right," said Daisuke, nodding. "Are you up for the challenge, Byakuro?"

"My blood is boiling," said Byakuro. For once, it was true: the mere mention of a strong opponent made him feel excited. He reached for his deck, but a word from Ken stopped him.

"Sorry to spoil your fun, Byakuro, but with your deck and skill right now, you won't be able to win you a match with this guy." Ken turned to the employee. "Daisuke, let me be your opponent!" He exclaimed, pulling out a red deck case and holding it in front of him.

"I would be glad to have my revenge match right here and now, but Byakuro is the one who will decide," said Daisuke. Byakuro could see the glimmer in Daisuke's eyes, and came to the conclusion that he was Ken's rival.

"I don't mind," said Byakuro, who calmed his excitation. 'I'll be able to learn and analyze both their play style and improve my own,' he thought to himself. Then he continued out loud. "But who will manage the counter if you go and fight Ken, sir?"

Daisuke frowned at the formal address, before he realized his mistake. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I just thought that you being friends with this lug, he'd have told you my name for me." He pointed a thumb at himself. "I'm Taishi Daisuke, but just call me by my given name. About the counter, I'm sure granduncle won't mind me leaving it for a few minutes. Besides," he added, "the Manager here is much more qualified to handle customers than I am."

The Manager yawned and blinked sleepily. "Meow?" It said, and Byakuro raised an eyebrow—again. This was one wacky place, indeed.

"If you say so, Daisuke," replied Byakuro.

The three of them then moved toward a nearby desk. Ken and Daisuke Set up the field to start and drew their hands, and smiled at each other, a competitive glean in each of their eyes. In unison, they shouted, "Stand up, Vanguard!"

"Tinder Spear Dracokid," shouted Ken.

"Seal Dragon, Terrycloth," shouted Daisuke.

"So you are using your Seal Dragon deck, seems fun," said Ken, eyes twinkling.

"And you are still using Perdition, I see," remarked Daisuke.

"Hey guys! Look over there, Kagero's Perdition and Seal Dragon fighting each other, and both players are two of the top guys in the shop!" said a fighter. Almost immediately, a crowd of about 20 people or so gathered at the desk where Daisuke and Ken were fighting.

"Isn't he the part time worker at this shop?" One guy asked.

"I heard he's very strong and made it into the semifinal in the last shop tournament," said another fighter pointing towards Daisuke.

"The one fighting him is Ken, the one who ranked second in that same tournament last week," a third added. "I heard he has just started playing vanguard recently."

"You actually did get second place?" Byakuro inquired. "I thought you were just bluffing."

Ken chuckled at the pseudo-praise, pseudo-insult. "What can I say? Practice makes perfect, and boy did I practice."

"That's what makes you different than our classmates, you rather do something interesting than studying for tests, I'm impressed," said Byakuro.

"Yeah, but I get scolded by my dad a lot. I wish I were as smart as you," Ken replied regretfully.

Daisuke coughed sightly. "So, would you like to go first? You did win our last match," he asked, drawing Ken's attention back to the game.

"Gladly! I draw," said Ken.

Ken's turn: "I ride Embodiment of Perdition, Majid (7000), and I move Tinder Spear Dracokid (5000) to the left column back row."

"Turn End."

**Ken-Daisuke**

**5-hand-5**

**0/0-damage-0/0**

**0-drop-0**

**0-soul-0**

**Tinder Spear Dracokid, empty-empty, empty**

**empty, Majid-Terrycloth, empty**

**empty, empty- empty, empty**

Daisuke's turn: "I ride Embodiment of Armor, Bahr (8000). Terrycloth moves to the center back (5000), and I attack with Bahr boosted by Terrycloth (13000 to 7000)," declared Daisuke.

"No guard," said Ken.

"Drive trigger check… Artpique: a draw and power to my vanguard (18000 to 7000)," said Daisuke while adding a card to his hand.

"Damage Check, nothing there," said Ken, disappointed, while putting a Breakdown Dragon in his damage zone.

"Turn End."

**Ken-Daisuke**

**5-hand-7**

**0/1-damage-0/0**

**0-drop-0**

**0-soul-0**

**Tinder Spear Dracokid, empty-empty, empty**

**empty, Majid—Bahr, Terrycloth**

**empty, empty- empty, empty**

Ken's turn: "Draw." He smiled. "Now, the real fun begins," said Ken while smiling, "Knight of Perdition, there is nothing to fear, for your hero has arrived to lead the charge! Stand up, Perdition Dragon Knight, Tarayev!" shouted Ken, slamming it down.

Daisuke chuckled slightly. "Always with the grand entrance. But even though your avatar is here, it won't deal me the sixth damage like it did last time." His free hand tightened to an excited fist. "This time," he declared, "I'll win for sure!"

End


	5. Chapter 4 Яeleased Inferno

**A/N: The last two chapter before I start with regular update next Sunday. Thanks for everyone who supported this and I would really like to read comment and reviews for this fanfic to improve it.**

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><p><span><strong>Chapter 4: Яeleased Inferno<strong>

**Ken-Daisuke**

**5-hand-7**

**0/1-damage-0/0**

**0-drop-0**

**1-soul-0**

**empty, Tarayev—Bahr, Terrycloth**

**empty, empty- empty, empty**

Ken chose a card from his hand. "I call Perdition Dragon Knight, Nazel (9000) to right. His skill let him gains 5000 power until end of turn if he's called when you have no rearguards in the same column (9000+5000=14000), and I call Perdition Dragon, Whirlwind Dragon (9000) to the left." Ken turned Nazel sideways. "Now, I attack your vanguard with Nazel (14000 to 8000)," he declared.

Daisuke carefully looked through his hand and called Seal Dragon, Shirting to the guardian circle." Your attack is stopped (14000 to 18000)," he said.

"My avatar, go! Burn through his vanguard (9000 to 8000)," Ken shouted while resting his vanguard.

"I'll let that through," said Daisuke, confident that Ken would not check a trigger.

"Drive check, nothing there," said Ken, revealing another Tarayev.

"Damage check, Embodiment of Spear, Tahr, a critical trigger, power to my vanguard (8000+5000=13000)," Daisuke said with a grin.

"I attack your vanguard with Whirlwind boosted by Tinder Spear (9000+5000=14000). Whirlwind's skill let him gains +3000 power when he attacks as long as I have a Perdition vanguard (17000 to 13000)," declared Ken.

"I'll let it through," said Daisuke who then put a Seal Dragon, Jacquard in the damage zone.

"Turn End."

**Ken-Daisuke**

**4-hand-6**

**0/1-damage-0/2**

**0-drop-1**

**1-soul-0**

**Tinder Spear Dracokid, Whirlwind Dragon-empty, empty**

**empty, Tarayev—Bahr, Terrycloth**

**empty, Nazel - empty, empty**

Daisuke's turn: "I stand and draw, and then I ride Majin Soldat (11000). Its skill prevent him from attacking," said Daisuke.

"What?" One of the spectators asked. "Why would he…?"

"Unless," Daisuke added, "I retire an opponent rearguard during the main phase." He gave a slight smirk in the direction of the one who had made the comment. "He has an 11k power and gains 5k when boosted by a Kagero, so I figure I could add him to the deck even though he's not part of the sub-clan."

"It's a very annoying card indeed, especially with Seal Dragons. They can retire units for pretty low costs," added Ken. Then, he turned his attention back to his opponent. "You always know how to use your deck specialty well, Daisuke. I can't thank my luck enough that I got a stand trigger in our last fight. Otherwise I would have been the one who lost, for sure."

"Without that lucky stand trigger, I doubted that I could defeat you," Daisuke countered. "After that match, I began thinking of fighting you again. You are skillful enough to use your deck well, and that makes me think of you as my rival. A confident smile spread across Daisuke's face. "But let me warn you, I've never once lost any of my rematches before, so you better be prepared.

"I call to the left Corduroy (9000). Corduroy skill activates: I counterblast a Seal dragon, to retire your Tinder Spear Dracokid. In return, you may look at the top four cards of your deck, search them for up to one grade 2, and call it," said Daisuke.

Ken grabbed the cards and his eyes flicked over them for a moment, before he grabbed one. "I choose to call Menace Laser Dragon (9000) behind Nazel, and I activated Menace Laser's skill: I counterblast one card to retire your Corduroy that is in the same column. A dracokid for a dragon, thanks for the card, Daisuke," said Ken, smiling, before shuffling his deck.

"It bad enough my Corduroy is retired, but this turn if you intercept with Nazel, you can move your Menace Laser to front next turn to replace it. It's like me giving you a free intercept," he said with a grimace. "But don't thank me just yet, I got more for you," replied Daisuke, grimace quickly reversing itself. "I call Flame Star Seal Dragon Knight (9000) to the right, and I counterblast one. You can't intercept for the rest of the turn," said Daisuke, his smile growing wider. "Call, Seal Dragon, Flannel (7000) to the right."

'This is bad,' thought Ken, surprised to see Daisuke's Flame Star. 'I don't have enough cards to guard, my hand is mostly grade 3 and I can't intercept.'

"I attack your vanguard with Flame Star (9000 to 9000)," declared Daisuke.

"I don't guard," said Ken, hoping for a trigger.

"Damage check… A stand trigger! My vanguard gets the power (9000+5000=14000), while I stand Nazel," said Ken as he released a relieved sigh.

Undaunted, Daisuke continued. "Now I attack your vanguard with my own, with a boost from Terrycloth (11000+5000=16000). My vanguard also gains 5000 from its own skill (16000+5000=21000)," declared Daisuke (21000 to 14000)."

"21k, with only a grade 2 and no triggers!" said Byakuro shocked. He was unexpectedly impressed by Daisuke and Ken's knowledge and skill in the game. "I got a lot to learn about this game." A wicked grin settled on his face. 'Finally,' he thought, something that really makes my life worth it.' A faint dark red aura clocked him, invisible to anyone who wasn't looking at him. 'I'm REALLY eager to fight now.'

Byakuro wasn't the only one; all of the spectators were murmuring their agreement at the power play. "What power!" Someone said, "Is this what it's like to play at a pro's level?"

"I don't guard," said Ken.

"Drive trigger check, Seal Dragon, Blockade, nothing there," said Ken, adding the card to his hand.

"Damage check… Yes, a draw trigger! Power to whirlwind, and I draw," said Ken delighted. "I needed that extra draw."

Daisuke reached out to Flannel, before realizing the power difference and withdrawing. "Flannel can't attack your whirlwind, and there's no point in attacking Nazel because you will replace him or Menace Laser next turn anyways, so I end my turn," said Daisuke.

**Ken-Daisuke**

**5-hand-4**

**1/3-damage-2/2**

**1-drop-2**

**1-soul-1**

**empty, Whirlwind Dragon-Flannel, empty**

**empty, Tarayev—Majin Soldat, Terrycloth**

**Menace Laser Dragon, Nazel -Flame Star, empty**

Ken's turn: "I stand and draw. I ride, Perdition Dragon, Pain Laser Dragon (11000)! I retire Menace Laser and call Perdition Battler Mareiko (7000) in its place. And, I also call Perdition Battler, Mareisei (7000) behind Whirlwind."

Ken rested the units. "I attack your Flame Star with Nazel boosted by Mareiko, (16000 to 9000)."

"I don't guard," said Daisuke, and he placed his Flame Star into the drop zone.

"My vanguard attacks your vanguard (11000 to 11000)... Drive check, first check, Elham. Second check, critical trigger! Power goes to whirlwind (9000+5000=14000) and my vanguard gains a crit!" said Ken joyfully.

Daisuke scowled slightly. "Damage, first check, Flame Star. Second check, Rinocross. No triggers."

"Whirlwind attack with a boost from Mareisei. Whirlwind also gets 3000 from its skill (24000 to 11000)," said Ken.

" I don't guard," said Daisuke who put his Seal Dragon Spirit, Malkibel to his damage zone. 'I got five damage now so it'll be do or die next turn,' thought Daisuke.

"Turn End."

**Ken-Daisuke**

**5-hand-4**

**1/3-damage-2/5**

**2-drop-3**

**2-soul-1**

**Mareisei, Whirlwind Dragon-Flannel, empty**

**empty, Pain Laser Dragon—Majin Soldat, Terrycloth**

**Mareiko, Menace Laser Dragon-empty, empty**

Daisuke's turn: "Stand and Draw. I'll end it this turn. Come, break the seal and unleashed your true power, I ride Hellfire Seal Dragon, Blockade Inferno (11000)!"

Byakuro's eyes widened as the card hit the vanguard circle, and time stopped as a burning, primal fear suddenly gripped his soul. A vision filled his mind, and he saw the terrifying volcanic dragon, white-hot flames licking at its body, and an overpowering heat rolling off. The part that scared Byakuro the most, though, were the small units with red ring on their backs near the ground at the dragon's feet, being crushed by the dozens underneath its sharp, curved claws. The rest fell from a single burst of red fire, before the dragon roared its victory to the sky, shaking the earth. Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed in Byakuro's head, louder than anything he had ever heard before and dripping with hatred and rage. "PREPARE TO BE TURNED TO ASHES, PUNY INVADERS!"

Just as his headache reached a critical level and Byakuro thought he would start groaning out loud, he saw an image of Imaginary Plane Dragon arrive, which seemed to stop the voice was in Byakuro's head.

"What was that?" asked a terrified Byakuro, trembling with fear. His dragonic ally looked back at him, no emotion on its face as it explained.

"That's a unit from Cray. Part of its spirit is contained in that card, it seems… He appears to have chosen that human, Daisuke, as his Vanguard."

At Byakuro's questioning glance, the Link Joker commander continued. "The units of Cray are well aware of the card game that represents their connection to Earth. The most powerful of the units are able to use that connection for themselves, and bond with one of the cardfighters of this planet. The humans who are bonded with these units through their cards are called Vanguards, and while some are consciously aware of their connection to Cray, most have no idea why they're so drawn to using certain cards."

Byakuro thought for a moment, processing. "So am I your vanguard?"

PID snorted. "Link Joker is above such plebian affiliations. I have no personal bond with you. All I've done is hack into the connection and find the person best suited to carry out our goals. Our agent, not our Vanguard. You and I have nothing in common."

Byakuro nodded, an emotion almost akin to disappointment filling him.

PID's expression turned thoughtful as he returned to the matter at hand. "Blockade is strong indeed; he's among the top threats who defeated many of Link Joker's units during the last invasion. He is worthy of becoming reversed but Nebula Lord has yet to win a single battle against him."

"So… It recognized me as your agent and was planning to burn me?" asked Byakuro who calmed down a little. The thought of being burned to a crisp still scared him senseless, but it was easier to remain calm when he knew what was happening.

PID nodded as an answer. "A veteran that fought us before in the first war could easily recognize our power and presence. It seems that Cray is aware that we will begin a second invasion and is planning to stop us. They are more competent than I thought…" PID's voice took on a tone to match its evil demeanor. "It will be fun watching them despair." The voice almost sent chills down Byakuro's spine. Almost.

"Byakuro, you are the key factor in winning the war. Your reversing of Earth's fighters will weaken their forces, and overwhelm their Vanguards with the void, letting us have an easier victory," said PID. "This time, void won't be denied." A hint of pride entered his voice with the last line.

Byakuro, naturally, didn't care about what PID was saying. All he wanted to do was cardfight and watch cardfights. Speaking of watching cardfights…

"PID, Could you leave? I'm watching a good fight right now, and I want to see who'll win," replied Byakuro.

PID seemed to twitch irritably, and opened his mouth with an unsatisfied growl to rebut the puny human, but Byakuro raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. The dragon subsided, and the vision began to blur as he released the human's mind from the connection. Byakuro was necessary to carry out their plans, so it would be best to remain on his good side, no matter how insignificant he felt the boy was.

But even though Imaginary Plane Dragon would never admit it out loud, it was also out of respect. To be faced with a power beyond comprehension, and to face it back without so much as a flinch, as if such cosmic power was BENEATH him… The Link Joker commander shuddered slightly at the thought of what kind of person it took to see the world that way.

From Byakuro's point of view, time started to turn once more, and Byakuro saw Daisuke call a Chain-attack Sutherland (8000) to replace Flame Star on the left, and a Majin Soldat (11000) to the right front, while moving Flannel to the back.

"I activate, Terrycloth skill, I counterblast one and send him to the soul to activate the same skill as Corduroy. Mareisei is forced to retire," said Daisuke.

Ken did what he did earlier with Corduroy but didn't find a grade two. It didn't bother him, though, as he knew what Daisuke was going to do.

"Now, Limit Break!" declared Daisuke. Byakuro could see an intricate orange vanguard circle appear above Daisuke for a moment, rotating slowly.

"I counterblast two seal dragons to retire all of your grade 2 rearguards. And, my Blockade gains 10000 power (11000+10000=21000)! Sutherland gains a total of 9000 power from Terrycloth and Blockade retiring your rearguards (8000+9000=17000) as well!" Daisuke exclaimed, while Ken put his Whirlwind and Menace Laser in the drop zone.

"This is not looking good," muttered Ken, counting up the number of guards in his hand.

"I attack your Pain Laser with Sutherland (17000 to 11000)," declared Daisuke.

"I guard with Perdition Dragon Knight, Tuvar (17000 to 21000)!" said Ken as he put the card on the guardian circle.

"My Blockade attacks your Pain Laser. Go, Inferno Devastation!" Daisuke shouted, holding a hand out above his vanguard.

"No guard," said Ken nervously. While it was true that he was only at three damage, Daisuke was known for his luck on the drive check, and Ken really didn't want to be at five damage right now.

"Drive trigger check. First check… Critical trigger. Power to my Majin Soldat (11000+5000=16000), and critical to my vanguard. Second check, Seal Dragon, Rinocross," said Daisuke, adding the cards to his hand.

Ken exhaled, a combination of relief and frustration, and placed two cards in his damage zone. Neither one was a trigger.

"I attack with Majin Soldat boosted by Flannel. Majin's skill increases his power by 5000 (28000 to 11000)," said Daisuke.

"I perfect guard with Rampart Dragon," said Ken, discarding a Pain Laser from his hand.

"Turn End."

**Ken-Daisuke**

**3-hand-4**

**1/5-damage-5/5**

**6-drop-3**

**2-soul-3**

**empty, empty –Majin Soldat, Flannel**

**empty, Pain Laser Dragon—Blockade Inferno, empty**

**Mareiko, empty –Sutherland, empty**

Ken's turn: "My turn, I stand and draw. I call a Perdition Dragon Knight, Elham in front of Mareiko and my avatar, Tarayev to the right! Now, Pain Laser Dragon, Seek mate!"

Ken return four cards from his drop zone to the deck and searched for a Menace Laser Dragon. He placed his deck back down after shuffling, and held the Menace Laser above his head. "Dragons of Perdition! Stand in an impenetrable line against your foes, and drown them in the flames of Purgatory! Legion!" He threw the card down, and it joined with his vanguard.

Ken pointed to Daisuke's rearguards. "Pain Laser's legion skill, I retire all of your units in your right column. Tarayev's skill let him gain 5k for each opponent rearguard retired in the same column as him as long as my vanguard in Legion." Daisuke's lips tightened to a thin line as he moved Majin Soldat and Flannel to the drop zone.

"Elham's skill let me retire an opponent rearguard in the same column as him! I retire Sutherland. Then my Mareiko's skill lets me unflip one damage by soul blasting one card when an opponent rearguard in the same column as him is retired," continued Ken.

'This… He destroyed all his rearguards for almost no cost!' thought Byakuro, with amazement. 'These two… they're on another level above me… I HAVE to get better!' As it stood, Byakuro felt entirely insignificant compared to those two.

"I attack with Elham boosted by Mareiko (16000) to your vanguard," Ken declared.

"Guard with Tahr," said Daisuke.

"I do a Legion attack using my vanguards (20000 to 11000). I soul blast 1 to increase it attack by 3000 (23000 to 11000)," said Ken.

"I perfect guard with Rinocross," said Daisuke while discarding a Seal Dragon, Artpique. Daisuke looked at his hand and grimaced. He knew that he couldn't guard the next attack.

"Drive triggers check, first check, nothing there, second check, also nothing," said Ken.

"Now, go, My Avatar! Tarayev, burn through his vanguard!" declared Ken as he rested the unit.

Daisuke slowly revealed the damage check and put his Weather Cloth into the damage zone. "No trigger…"

**Ken-Daisuke**

**4-hand-1**

**1/5-damage-5/6**

**2-drop-6**

**0-soul-3**

**empty, Tarayev– empty, empty**

**empty, Pain Laser+Menace Laser—Blockade Inferno, empty**

**Mareiko, Elham– empty, empty**

"I lost to same person and unit again…" He said dejectedly, but he immediately brightened up. "You are the first one to beat me in a rematch, congrats!" he said, raising his hand as a sign of handshake towards Ken.

Ken grabbed Daisuke's hand. "It's an honor to play you, Daisuke." His face cracked into a wide, joking grin. "Maybe I can kick your butt again in match three!"

Daisuke scoffed. "I'll die before I ever lose to the same deck three times in a row."

Ken nodded. "Sure, whatever you say!" He turned and parted the crowd, preparing to leave the shop.

"What, you're leaving already?" asked Byakuro.

"Yeah, Daisuke will help you with your deck, I'm leaving home early because there is a math test tomorrow and I don't want my grades to worsen," replied Ken.

"We have a math test tomorrow!" cried Byakuro, shocked. "How come I didn't know?!"

"Eh…You were sleeping at math class before end of school. But it doesn't matter, like you need or even want to prepare," Ken answered with a shrug.

"You're right but you could still inform me first, I'd hate to be woken by the teacher with detention for sleeping on the day of a test," Byakuro grumbled.

Ken chuckled. "Ok, I'll make sure to take your notes and do all of your stuff for you, your majesty," he joked. "I'll even tell you when we have tests!"

Byakuro slighted a bit at the provocation, but he knew it was all in fun. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ken."

**End**


	6. Chapter 5 Яeappeared Enemy

**Chapter 5: Яeappeared Enemy**

That's was tiring," said Daisuke, sweating as he returned from lifting several cardboard boxes atop of each other from the storeroom. He placed the boxes on top of the counter desk. "Granduncle is the one who always lifted these; never knew he was that strong for his age."

He sighed and looked over to the tables. "Hey, Byakuro stop cardfighting and come over here. I thought you wanted to build a stronger deck," he called.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Just as soon as I end this match," Byakuro replied.

Daisuke twitched slightly. "I don't have much time waiting for you to come over here to buy your cards. My shift ends at seven, which is less than an hour from now," replied Daisuke. He turned his attention back to the boxes and began unpacking. "Geez, that kid is ridiculous… He's barely even started playing, but he's already hooked!"

Over at the table, Byakuro was on a roll. He was at four, damage and his opponent was at five, with only one card in hand. "Go, Garnet Star and Photon, do a legion attack on Mr. Invincible (20000 to 10000)!" said Byakuro, resting his vanguard with a smile on his face.

The kid, named Bunta, looked nervous. "No guard!"

"First check, Neon, nothing there. Second check, heal trigger!" Byakuro looked at his damage zone. "My damage only at four, so I can't heal so power to Radon(9000+5000=14000)." He didn't particularly care, though; he had already won…

"Damage check, heal trigger," said Bunta with a relieved sigh, replacing one damage with the heal trigger.

"Turn End," said Byakuro, with a mix of irritation and disappointment.

**Byakuro-Bunta**

**4-hand-1**

**0/4-damage-0/5**

**0-drop-5**

**4-soul-7**

**Quantum,Magnesium-[King of Swords],Queen of Hearts**

**empty, Garnet Star+Photon—Mr. Invincible, [Shout]**

**Satellite Mirage, Radon-empty, empty**

***[locked unit]**

Bunta's turn: "I stand and draw, Mr. Invincible's skill lets me soul charge and unflip a damage but since I have 5 face up damage, I can't unflip more."

"Next, I call a Brutal Jack (11000) to the left and counterblast one to release its restraint. Then I call clay doll mechanic behind it(7000) whose skill lets me unflip a damage."

Bunta grinned. "Now, Brutal Jack, boosted by Clay Doll, attacks your vanguard (19000 to 11000). Brutal Jack's skill allows it to gain 5k power when boosted by a Nova Grappler (24000 to 11000)."

"I'll let it through," said Byakuro undaunted as he only had four damage and could certainly guard the next attack easily. Byakuro damage check didn't reveal a trigger.

"Mr. Invincible attack your Radon, Invincible charge (10000 to 9000)!" declared Bunta, resting his vanguard.

"I don't guard," said Byakuro. "Looks like I'll beat you next turn," he said with a smile. Bunta checked Shout and Asura Kaiser.

"Think you can beat me that easily? Ha! My Mr. Invincible skill activates, when his attack hits, I can activate a megablast and stand all my units!" gloated Bunta. "Counterblast five, soulblast eight! Hell Stand!" Every card that wasn't locked stood once more.

"A megablast?" Byakuro said, shocked, "This is the first time I've heard of it."

"You should not have let my attack hit your Radon. If I can just land one more hit on your vanguard, you will lose this fight, so it doesn't matter if it costs lot," Bunta taunted.

"How was I supposed to know it had a skill that activated on-hit?" Byakuro questioned. Then he glanced at his hand, and shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyways, since I can guard your attacks," he said confidently.

"Oh yeah? We'll see! Brutal Jack attacks your vanguard again with a boost from clay doll (24000 to 11000)!"

"Guard," said Byakuro while putting the heal trigger and neon he checked before onto the guardian circle (24000 to 26000).

Bunta growled. "Mr. Invincible, you're my last hope, attack! Invincible Charge! (10000 to 11000" His hope for victory rested on drawing triggers on the drive check…

Byakuro grinned. "Let me crush your hope: I guard with Apollo (10000 to 21000). Even with two triggers, your attack can't get through!"

"Drive trigger check, first check...Tough boy, second check... critical trigger all effects to Mr. Invincible (15000 to 21000)," said Bunta who grimaced that his attack didn't went through.

"Turn end," said Bunta who proceeded to unlock his two cards.

**Byakuro-Bunta**

**1-hand-4**

**0/5-damage-5/5**

**4-drop-12**

**4-soul-0**

**Quantum,Magnesium-King of Swords,Queen of Hearts**

**empty, Garnet Star+Photon—Mr. Invincible, Shout**

**Satellite Mirage, empty-Brutal Jack, Clay Doll**

Byakuro's turn: "End Game!" declared Byakuro.

Bunta and Daisuke both looked oddly at Byakuro. "End game?" Bunta asked. "Is that some sort of declaration? I've never heard it before."

Byakuro ignored him, intent on finishing the fight.

"I call Neon to right (7000), and attack your vanguard with a boost from Mirage. Plus, it gains 3k power when attacking (17000 to 10000)!"

"I intercept with King of Swords and Brutal Jack," said Bunta moving the two units from the rearguard circle towards the guardian circle.

"Well then, here comes Magnesium boosted by Quantum (15000 to 10000)!" Byakuro ontinued, glee rising.

"I guard," said Bunta putting the critical he checked to the guardian circle.

"Now, Garnet Star and Photon, Legion attack! (20000 to 10000)" declared Byakuro resting his legion unit.

"I can't guard that," scowled Bunta. He only had 10000 points of shield in his hand.

Byakuro then performed his drive checked which reveal a Berkelium and a Crumble mare. Bunta then placed his sixth damage in the damage zone. He had lost.

**Byakuro-Bunta**

**1-hand-3**

**0/5-damage-5/6**

**4-drop-15**

**4-soul-0**

**Quantum,Magnesium-empty, Queen of Hearts**

**empty, Garnet Star+Photon—Mr. Invincible, Shout**

**Satellite Mirage, Neon-empty, Clay Doll**

"That was a nice match. Thanks!" Byakuro said with a happy sigh, while subtly canceling the reverse. "That megablast is scary, but I don't think it's good because the cost is so high. You can barely use any skills the entire game, and then you can only use the megablast once. It's like a desperation strategy in a deck that can get consistent pressure." Then he noticed the crowd that had been gathering to watch the fight. "So, who's next?"

"Don't you need to go and buy cards for your deck? I heard that the part time worker has a really bad temper," asked Bunta, before thanking Byakuro for the match.

Byakuro beat down his urge to have another fight, parted the crowd, and walked towards the counter.

"I waited for you to return from the storeroom like about 30 seconds or so and I got bored so I decided to card fight to kill time. At least an hour must have gone by the time you return from the storeroom. What took you so long?" said Byakuro explaining himself and questioning Daisuke.

Daisuke growled menacingly. "30 seconds is not nearly enough to make anyone feel bored! You could have at least waited for five minutes before you left and fought. Or even better, you could have lent me a hand in the storeroom! You should see the mess in there! A stray cat got in and knocked over boxes filled with booster sets. Do you know how long that takes to clean up?" complained Daisuke. By the end, he was just short of shouting.

Of course, Byakuro was completely unfazed, and pretended that Daisuke hadn't said anything. "Yeah, yeah, I apologize. So which sets should I buy first?" he asked.

Daisuke sighed and ran his hand down his face, trying to calm himself down. He almost looked like he was going to complain more, before the look on Byakuro's face told him not to bother. "Before that, I need to know what kind of deck you would like to build first."

"Link Joker of course, I already have a trial deck for them so I don't need to buy more cards for them," answered Byakuro. Wasn't that obvious?

"No, no, what I meant was, do you want a Limit Break deck or a Legion deck?" Daisuke amended. "Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Limit Breaks are usually more powerful, but you need four damage to use them, and Legions have a basic 20000 attack power at all times.

Byakuro thought for a moment before responding. "From the fights I watched so far, I can't deny that Limit Break is deadly, but I think I'd prefer Legion over Limit Break. The four-damage requirement is too slow for me," answered Byakuro.

"Okay, so you want to build a Legion deck. Let's start by finding an ace card for your deck, you can buy grade 3 Legion cards in Booster Sets 17," said Daisuke with a nod, placing a bunch of packs on the counter. "But for Legion you also need to buy its corresponding mate so it won't come cheap and easy to find the cards you want."

Byakuro listened just long enough to understand what to do, and began scanning the card packs. Funnily enough, he could hear a whisper from some of the packs, as if they were calling to him. Some of the packs were louder than others, and some didn't even have a voice. Byakuro winced as one of them seemed to shout at him, and he instinctively placed a hand over it to shut it up. He paid for and opened the pack, before he was greeted with a familiar sight, a mostly-white dragon with black and red rings covering its body, and red horns.

"That's Imaginary Plane Dragon, a triple rare Link Joker unit and you were lucky enough to get him on your first pack!" said Daisuke with awe. .

Byakuro smiled, imagining the power he could wield with this card, before a nasty-looking black and red aura suddenly surrounded it. Byakuro barely restrained his yelp, but couldn't stop his eyes from widening slightly. The aura, similar to the reverse, began to crawl up his arm, and he could feel that limb going numb. More out of fear and sheer determination than any real power, he pushed, and the reverse began to fade. The effort left Byakuro slightly panting and scared, but with full control of his faculties.

'Pid is trying to take control of me and make me his puppet, and he'd almost done it too. I need to be stronger to master this power. No matter how much I want to use this card, it's useless if I can't control it without it controlling me,' thought Byakuro, catching his breath.

"Daisuke, does this set have any other grade 3 Legion cards I can use? I don't want to add this card to my deck," asked Byakuro. The exhaustion he felt was strangely unnoticeable by Daisuke, but Byakuro wasn't about to complain.

"Yeah, there is…but why wouldn't you want to use Imaginary Plane? It's a good card that can let you do a triangle lock by a counterblasting two cards when you Legion and have another card in the center column behind it," said Daisuke, puzzled by Byakuro's rejection.

"No specific reason," answered Byakuro. "I've just got a gut feeling that this card isn't for me." Which was completely false; that card was PERFECT for him, but he couldn't exactly tell the truth.

"If you say so," said Daisuke, with an odd look.

The hour passed with Daisuke recommending and Byakuro purchasing packs from sets with Link Joker. Byakuro continued to pick the packs that called to him softly, but avoided the packs that seemed to shout at him, no matter how hard it was to ignore—he didn't think he could handle being in the possession of even one more copy of Pid's card. Daisuke looked almost indignant at the number of useful cards Byakuro continued to pull, but only thought that Byakuro has really good luck.

After a while, Byakuro stood up and gathered the cards he had bought. "Well, as fun as this has been, I think it's time for me to get going. I've got a math test to study for and whatnot if I'm in the mood to."

Daisuke nodded. "Ok, no problem. I'll see you later. Remember to buy from the shop again, and…" He chuckled slightly. "Let's fight when we have the chance. I have a feeling it's going to be amazing."

Byakuro stood in front of the sliding door and looked back over his shoulder with a pleased smile. "Yeah, can't wait to fight you, too."

As Byakuro walked home, he struggled with the dual feeling of awe at his new power and the fear of being conquered, but with no doubt, he was looking forward to cardfighting again at the soonest possibility. Then, strangely enough, when he arrived home, there was a blue-haired girl standing there. The girl was wearing Miyaji Academy's female uniform—the same school Byakuro attended.

'Must be Yuki's friend, since I've never met her… I never thought that she had any that were close enough to invite over, though. Maybe she's just here to bring her homework or something,' thought Byakuro.

Fujiwara Yuki was Byakuro's 13 year-old little sister who studied in the same school as him. He barely knew much about his sister, though, as they almost never saw despite sharing a residence. The same could be said with his older brother, Fujiwara Sora, but that wasn't as surprising, since he lived in a rented apartment near his university. Byakuro sometimes felt that the three of them lived in different worlds despite their relation.

Fujiwara Yuki spent her time in the house, shut in her room watching anime or playing video games. She rarely left the house other than test days. Normally, that would be grounds for expulsion, but the girl still somehow managed to score in the top ten of the school listings every time. It would be a shocker for Byakuro to learn that she befriended any of her schoolmates.

The girl at his door looked lost, but as she turned to leave, she saw Byakuro, and brightened a bit. "Excuse me, is this Fujiwara Yuki's house?" She asked. "I heard that this was where she lived, but no one answered the door when I rang the bell."

Byakuro nodded and used his key to open the door. "Yeah, I'm her brother, Byakuro. Her door is upstairs, the second one on the right," he said, indicating his sister room.

"Thanks, I'm Sendou Akira, nice to meet you," the blue haired girl said with a slight bow before going up the stair to find her friend.

"Sendou…" said a hate-filled voice grudgingly, audible only to Byakuro. "She might pose a problem." Byakuro frowned at the unfamiliar voice; it was most certainly not Pid. He closed his eyes for just a moment and the image of a different dragon flashed before his eyes for a moment; this voice apparently belonged to Garnet Star.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Byakuro. "She's just a normal high-schooler."

"To all appearances, isn't that what you are, too?" Garnet Star countered. "I can feel it. She is the daughter of Sendou Aichi, the one who successfully defeated our agent two decades ago and foiled our plan to invade earth. His avatar, Blaster Blade, fought and defeated our doomsday device, a feat that demoralized our commanders and rallied the forces of Cray. Likewise, he was the one that defeated our agent on Earth and ended the invasion before it could truly begin.

"So, just by virtue of her relation to her father, she may try to defeat me and thwart your invasion, right?" asked Byakuro.

"Yes, if she as strong willed as her father," answered Garnet Star.

"Or I am weak as your previous agent," continued Byakuro, "but luckily for you, you got me here and I'm certain that she won't be the one to fail your invasion because there won't be a weak agent for her to defeat."

Garnet Star roared. "Don't get too cocky! The previous agent was far superior in card fighting abilities and mental capabilities than you, puny human! He perfectly master the power granted by us Link Joker while you can't even scratch even the surface! The Great Chaos Breaker had to get personally involved because Nebula Lord wasn't strong enough to control him!" The intense hatred was clearly conveyed through the mental link, but Byakuro, once again, would not be fazed.

"While what you say is true for now, I'm sure that you would one day change your mind," said Byakuro undaunted by Garnet Star's mockery of him before the link was suddenly cut off.

"Why do they keep bothering me? Maybe I should learn how to prevent them from linking with me," thought Byakuro aloud before going into the kitchen to have his dinner: A small cup of instant ramen. Although he was bored of the taste, he could not cook for himself, and if he waited for his mother to get home from the night shift at her job, he would miss too much sleep. Perhaps, he mused, he would learn to cook. It would certainly make life more interesting.

After finishing the meal, eaten in silence on his living room couch, Byakuro went to his room to begin building his deck from scratch. Most of the cards from the trial deck were useless, so he had to overhaul everything. He was constantly conflicted with the grade twos that he wanted to add; there was very little space for him to add any grade two that weren't mates.

After hours of play testing (math test long forgotten) he finally built himself a deck he liked and quickly went to sleep after. Byakuro's sleep came easily that night, and he slept soundly; the white dragon and red-ringed black orb had left the realm of his subconscious. Another factor, though, was his excitement. He couldn't wait for tomorrow, and therefore the prospect of sleep didn't bore him.

For the first time in a long time, Byakuro was excited.

Next Chapter: The Яules of Justice


	7. Chapter 6 The Яules of Justice

Chapter 6: The Яules of Justice

"Byakuro…Byakuro…" Byakuro could hear a voice calling his name accompanied by the sound of a door being knocked.

"Huh…" Byakuro mumbled, half-awake.

"Wake up already, Byakuro. It's already seven, you don't want to be late for school," said the voice with a kind and soft tone.

"Yes, Mom. I'll be ready in ten minutes," replied Byakuro, stretching and yawning.

"Okay, but ready yourself quick. Breakfast is done and you should eat it while it's still warm," advised Byakuro's mom. Byakuro could hear a few footsteps as she walked away from his door down the hall.

"That's weird, I must have been really tired, otherwise I won't sleep for that long," said Byakuro to himself, staring at the time indicated on his alarm clock. "Guess I was having a blast yesterday… Either that, or using Link Joker's power must have really tired me out."

Byakuro finished his morning routine, and his hand was on the door before he heard a loud chorus of voices suddenly clamoring in his head.

"Oh right, my deck," said Byakuro while face palming. He took out a white deck case he had bought yesterday from his bedside drawer and put it his pants pocket.

Byakuro's eyes, still half-lidded from just waking up opened fully. "Can't wait to try out my new deck. I think I'll challenge Ken to a fight at school later."

Byakuro came downstairs towards the dining table to eat his breakfast, but stopped as soon as he saw a black haired girl wearing her school uniform eating bread on the seat across him. "Hello, sis," he said, unsure of how to respond to his sister having gotten up this morning.

"Hey, Nii-san," she said, softly.

There was an awkward silence, as Byakuro watched his sister eating her breakfast, before Byakuro suddenly asked, "Did I fall back asleep? Is this a dream? Someone pinch me." Suddenly, he felt a sudden headache. "OW!" What was that?

"My apologies, sir," Byakuro heard a voice in his head, "I heard you request a pinch, and used our mental link to perform your request to the best of my ability."

'…Shut it, Osmium.'

Byakuro's mom entered the dining room from the kitchen holding an egg-filled frying pan. "Oh, Byakuro, I forgot to mention before that Yuki wants to go to school today, so be a good brother and take care of her on the road," she said.

"Ok," Byakuro said. He turned to his sister. "Yuki, do you have tests today?" he asked.

"No," replied Yuki, barely audible.

Byakuro turned back to his mom. "Mom, Yuki's is having a really bad fever." There was a sudden pain in his foot. "OW! What was that?" He shouted, rubbing his foot.

Yuki giggled lightly. "It's fun to stomp your foot when you make fun of me."

"Don't you have to watch anime or something now?" asked Byakuro, more irritated than anything else.

"Sorry, but it's none of your business, Nii-san," said Yuki, before leaving the dining table leaving half eaten bread on her plate.

Byakuro stared after her. "She must have hit her head REALLY hard," he said, before putting his emptied plate into the dishwasher and chasing after her. "Yuki, wait, Mom said I had to walk you to school!"

On the way there, Byakuro and Yuki walked in silence; the former was an unlikely conversation starter, and the latter simply didn't talk much at all. At least, that was how it was until someone called out. "Hey Yuki! Over here!" Byakuro turned to the voice to see the blue haired girl, Sendou Akira. Then, without warning, his head burst into immense pain and he had to suppress a shout.

"Oh, hello Akira," Yuki said with a smile, unaware of her brother's pain due to her positioning in front of him.

Akira had better positioning, though, and noticed Byakuro clutching his head. "Yuki's brother, are you alright?" asked the blue haired girl.

"Its fine," replied Byakuro, trying to silence the mental voices that were the cause of his pain. "Sendou, is it? Would you mind walking to school with Yuki? I just remembered that I have forgotten something at home," continued Byakuro. The voices in his head seemed to become louder and clearer.

"Don't let her foil our plans!"

"Reverse her now!"

"She cannot be allowed to live!"

"REVERSE!"

"I'll be glad too," replied Akira kindly with a faint smile on her face. "I hope to see you again soon."

The voice immediately silenced when Akira and Yuki left Byakuro's field of vision. With the sudden lack of pressure, Byakuro's head spun, and he fell to one knee. "Yeah, well I hope I never see you again…" He rasped.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, "Well, it's good to see you too, bud."

Byakuro looked up as his vision slowly resolved itself and the world stopped spinning, landing on a familiar frock of brown hair. "Ken?" asked Byakuro, trying to stand and barely succeeding.

"Yeah, but are you all right, Byakuro?" asked Ken, letting Byakuro lean on him a bit. "Not much could make you just kneel in the middle of the road like that."

"I'm fine. Must be tired from staying up all night building my deck," lied Byakuro. Truth was, the power of Link Joker was pushing his limits. 'I thought I had it under control by using unemotional units and minimizing Commander Units like Garnet Star or Pid, but it looks like I can't control it as well as I thought,' he thought. 'If this is the power of even the emotionless units, I might be in trouble.'

To change the topic, Byakuro suddenly stopped leaning on Ken, ignoring the slight headache it caused. "Let's hurry to school, otherwise we'll be late and I don't want to deal with the disciplinary committee members," he said.

"If you say so," replied Ken. The two took off running.

"Ken, let's fight at Cat Capital after school, I'm eager to show you my new deck," said Byakuro between breaths as they ran into the school yard.

Ken nodded in acknowledgement. His worried expression changed to a huge smile, "Me too, Byakuro!"

The bell signaling the beginning of class rang right after Byakuro and Ken rushed into the school, panting heavily.

"If we run towards our classroom now, we'll arrive before Satomi Sensei," said Ken, although Byakuro could barely hear them over his breathing.

"Okay," he replied, gulping in air.

They then begun quickly climbing up the stairs, rushing towards their classroom but their attempt to enter was stopped by someone. "Oh? Late students, I see."

Byakuro could see that the person was wearing the disciplinary committee badge and was wearing its chairman armband on his right arm.

"Byakuro, we're in trouble," Ken grumbled. "Three hundred disciplinary committee members, and we just have to be stopped by its chairman..."

"What's so special about him?" asked Byakuro puzzled by Ken's reaction.

"You don't pay attention about anything in our school, don't you? I bet you don't even know the principal's name or face." Ken sighed. "That guy is Akiyama Seigi, the chairmen of the disciplinary committee, feared by students and even teachers all over the school. He won't let a singe misbehavior slide or rule be broken at this school. And the worst of all, he's Satomi sensei's son," explained Ken,

Byakuro slightly paled at the last line. "…He doesn't hold grudges on his mom's behalf, right?" he asked nervously. Then he realized exactly what had just happened. 'Did I just feel… Emotion?'

He prayed the answer to the first was no and the second was yes, but before Ken could respond, Seigi interrupted. "Stop chitchatting, you two," said Seigi. The chairman had messy black hair and was well built, but the most striking part of his appearance was his eyes, stern as a tiger's and equally intimidating. Most people sensed danger and ran when they saw them. Ken and Byakuro were less affected—Ken because he actually knew the guy personally, and Byakuro because he didn't GET intimidated.

"You both are late to school and were found running around in the hallway so I would like for you two to follow me to receive your punishment," said Seigi eyes becoming sterner.

Ken gulped a bit, while Byakuro remained unfazed. "Hey, Seigi, isn't it? Stop with the intimidating look, you're not scaring anyone, I've met cards scarier than you," he mocked.

"'Cards scarier than you', seriously! That's the best you can think of," said Ken, laughing nervously.

Byakuro chuckled too, but for entirely different reasons—it was close, but Garnet Star beat out Pid in sheer ferocity and fear factor.

Seigi made a "hmph!" noise. "Cold jokes aside, I expected better from you Ken. You put up a good fight before and dealt me five damages during the shop tournament last week," said the disciplinary committee chairmen.

"You were really strong; you've even beaten Kai, the champion of the last national tournament," added Ken clenching his fist. "But that doesn't mean I haven't gotten better. I'll show you if we have a rematch, right here and now."

Byakuro's head snapped towards his friend so fast there that there was an audible crack. 'Wait, what?'

Seigi growled slightly as they reached the front office, where he grabbed a misdemeanor slip from the box. He began writing on it as they walked back towards the classroom. "It's just pure luck that I beat Kai Ryuunosuke. He's undoubtedly stronger than me. My skills and experience can't even be compared to him. If I fight him again, I'll definitely lose," said Seigi wavering before regaining his composure. "You on the other hand, are someone I can easily beat," he said confidently, the stern look returning. "You will meet me after school to decide your punishment. All teachers will be informed that you are not allowed to leave without meeting me, so don't try to sneak off."

Byakuro frowned. "Ken, what's going on?"

Ken turned to his friend. "Oh, that's right, you don't know about Seigi's methods. The way Seigi operates is by cardfighting against the people who get in trouble."

No EFFING way. That was just too convenient. Not that Byakuro was complaining.

"After considering the nature of the original crime and deciding a baseline punishment based on that, the severity is decided by how badly he beats you in your cardfight," Ken explained.

Byakuro immediately saw a flaw in the operation. "What happens if someone beats him?"

"The severity is decided by how badly he beats you in your cardfight," Ken repeated, and Seigi smirked. "Byakuro, what you have to realize is that Seigi is pretty close to a national level player. Even though Vanguard's been a large part of the school's culture for the last twenty years, no one could even hope to come close to winning." Ken's face turned a shade redder. "It's also another one of the reasons I trained so much instead of studied for exams, so that I could stop losing to him."

Byakuro raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh?" He immediately turned to Seigi. "So let's say we do the impossible. Let's say we beat you. Will you let us off the hook?"

Akiyama's eyes narrowed even more, and Byakuro got a chill down his spine that definitely reminded him of Akiyama's mother's glares. "You arrogant worm," he said, in a cool, collected voice. "You think you can not only beat me, which is a miracle all upon itself, but also escape the claws of justice? If the first one is nearly impossible, the second one is beyond impossible."

Byakuro grinned an evil grin and narrowed his eyes. "So I guess that means you can't beat us, then."

Ken tugged Byakuro's arm. "Byakuro, stop. We did get here late, after all. It's not a huge deal, as long as we don't let him demolish us."

Byakuro continued, undaunted. "I bet you don't even care about justice. You just want a nice cardfight." Seigi bristled, and Ken visibly shrank back. Byakuro, though, leaned forward instead, his grin stretching even wider. "Tell you what, if we win, we join the counsel and get immunity for all past and future crimes of minor nature. If you win, we take on the duties of the cleaning staff for the next week, no pay."

Ken wailed. "Byakuro, stop this! I might have a chance if I draw a good hand, but you're just throwing yourself to the wolves!"

"Silence!" Seigi snarled. Ken immediately shut up. Even though Ken knew Seigi, it was precisely for that reason that he knew exactly how intense the Akiyama could get when provoked. And no one wanted to be caught in the crossfire.

Seigi raised his chin a half a centimeter. "With three amendments, I accept. You will not escape all punishment if you win, for I cannot just let you go. You will instead receive one hour of detention each, the minimum punishment possible."

Byakuro and Ken both nodded. "Second, you will not be forgiven for your future transgressions. Instead, you will be given a disproportionally smaller punishment. I can bend the rules, but I will never break them." Byakuro and Ken nodded again.

"Third…" Seigi's face suddenly changed its demeanor entirely, growing soft—no, not soft, Byakuro realized, but compared to the face he had just been making, he might as well have just pulled a 180 personality-wise. "I would never force anyone to take a wage-less job. You would merely be given my standard proportional punishment."

Byakuro's smile stretched (almost literally) from ear to ear, and his eyes narrowed deceptively. "Akiyama-san, I didn't think you were so forgiving."

"I have no intention on punishing students more then I should," Seigi sniffed. "Punishment is given to make students regret their action and prevent other students from doing the same. I'm not an evil person; I only wear this armband to ensure that students are treated fairly and receive justice for what they do." He gave a slight nod to punctuate his statement.

Something in the words he said—Byakuro didn't know what—made Byakuro's eyes glint with passionate fire. "Akiyama Seigi, you're different than other students in this school and that makes you interest me… Sorry, Ken but I want to fight him, is it alright with you?"

Ken nodded. "I got no problem with that, I did steal a match with Daisuke from you yesterday so this'll make it even," agreed Ken.

"Thanks Ken. And about our fight, let's postpone it," said Byakuro.

"Can't be helped. No one can stop you when you get like this," he agreed again. 'And given how rare it is, no one would want to, either.'

"So both of you meet me at the school gymnasium after school. And what's your name?" asked Seigi, nodding towards Byakuro.

"Fujiwara Byakuro."

"I'll remember that, this is the first time I see someone interesting like you," said Seigi. Coincidentally, it was at that moment when the three arrived back where they had started. Seigi tore the misdemeanor slip in half, giving one half to Byakuro and keeping the other for the official record. "Now, you're late for class!" He said, his authoritative voice returning. Then he walked away.

"That was close. We almost get punished. Good thing he's not a tyrant…" said Ken with a relieved sigh.

"But I still need to win to avoid getting punished, how strong is he?" asked Byakuro.

"Stronger than me or Daisuke," answered Ken.

"That was useless. I thought you could give DETAILS on how strong he is. Obviously a national fighter would be stronger than a regional fighter," replied Byakuro, a small amount of disdain entering his voice. "Now, let's enter class; Satomi Sensei will be arriving any second."

Ken nodded and followed Byakuro into the class.

The day passed slowly for Byakuro; nothing interesting happened and there were no tests, so he passed the time sleeping, or, occasionally, talking with one of the voices in his head. The Link Joker units were mostly just mass-produced, but some of them had been purely biological at birth, and had later been conquered. When questioned whether or not they regretted their conversion, every unit would wonder what regret was, and why it was a necessary function.

Byakuro didn't stop except for his math test at the end of the day, which he breezed through, barely even trying. Satomi-sensei was glaring daggers at him the entire time, though, no doubt because he was doing so well.

Ken, on the other hand, was sweating the entire time.

"I must have score poorly," complained Ken afterwards. "I even skipped my free period to work on the math exercises."

"It's not that hard, you know," replied Byakuro, dully.

"Maybe for you," Ken sighed again. "Let's go towards the gymnasium, Seigi must have been waiting for us for a while now."

They arrived at gymnasium to find a huge crowd cheering around some sort of system. Seigi stood at one side of the system, and his opponent at the other, his face turned away from the pair. The system was blocky and rectangular, and it looked like a fishtank, but inside there were vanguard units instead of fish.

"Go! Super Dimensional Robo, Daikaiser, Kaiser Blade Slash!" declared Seigi, reaching towards the table. Byakuro couldn't see from his angle, but he guessed that Seigi had rested his vanguard. A huge robot then swung its sword at the opponents Vanguard.

"What's that?" asked Byakuro indicating the units he saw.

"That's the Motion Figure System, when using it you can see your units in action, it's a really amazing experience especially when you try it for the first time," explained Ken. Then, he added, "Some said you could talk with the monsters too, but all the claims so far have been disproven. Shame… I wonder what the units would say or do if you could actually see and hear them."

"I think I've got a good idea," said Byakuro to himself, vividly remembering the rampages he had seen, Garnet Star and Blockade Inferno both ripping into enemies with gusto.

The two turned their attention back to the match. "First Check, Goeagle, a grade 3, I retire your sentinel using my break ride skill. Second check, critical trigger! All effects to my vanguard," said Seigi.

"I lost," said the opponent, putting his sixth damage into the damage zone. Almost immediately after the units all disappeared, the crowd began talking about the match.

"Wow, six to four damages! And the last one was overkill for three crits!" said one of them.

"The disciplinary committee chairmen is really strong," said another.

Byakuro and Ken squeezed out of the crowd. "Seigi, you're as strong as ever," remarked Ken.

"That was just warm up," he bragged. "So Byakuro, are you up for the fight?" he asked.

"Of course I'm ready. I can't wait to defeat you," said Byakuro, the semi-familiar feeling of excitement welling up inside. Already, he could hear the voices of his Link Joker units, shouting to each other to prepare.

"I shall see about that," said Seigi, smirking slightly.

Byakuro walked towards the card placing device and put on the already prepared fighter's gloves. Ken told him that the gloves would allow him to feel more connection with his units (not that Byakuro needed it) and placed his deck and starter. Meanwhile, Seigi was done returning and shuffling the cards used in the previous match back to his deck and was also placing his deck and starter. Both player draw 5 cards from their hand and redraw 2 cards each. "Ready to lose, honorable chairman?" Byakuro asked, tauntingly.

Seigi smirked in return. "Your justice shall be swift and decisive!" He declared.

In unison, they shouted, "Stand Up, Vanguard!"

The scenery around both fighter changed into the default setting of the hologram machine which is a rocky plain enclosed by a beautiful clear sky on Planet Cray. Byakuro took no notice towards the surroundings. "Robin Knight," he said casually as a white fox with a black ring on its tail appear in front of him.

"Dimensional Robo, Daimagnum," said Seigi also calling his starter name. Its appearance consisted of a mostly purple robot wielding two huge pistols.

"Link Joker, huh? Such an evil clan could never win against the Dimension Police. This may not prove to be a challenge at all," boast Seigi.

"I'm sure you'll be surprised," replied Byakuro with a devious grin on his face.

"My clan mechanic work quite well against lock, which only limits my rearguards," countered Seigi confidently.

Byakuro was silent for a moment. "I may not know what the Dimension Police's mechanics are, but I will find a way to overcomer them. Link Joker is the Star Gate nation's ultimate clan, and I promise, I will defeat you swiftly,"

"Stop with the empty chit chat and go ahead to the cardfight!" shouted a person from the crowd, eager to see the fight.

"I go first, I draw and I'll ride Dimensional Robo, Daibrave (7000) and I move Daimagnum (5000) to the back left and I end my turn," said Seigi.

**Seigi-Byakuro**

**5-hand-5**

**0/0-damage-0/0**

**0-soul-0**

**0-drop-0**

**Daimagnum, empty-empty, empty**

**empty, Daibrave-Robin, empty**

**empty, empty-empty, empty**

"My turn," Byakuro said. "I draw and ride Bolt Line (7000) and move Robin Knight (5000) to the back left too," said Byakuro mimicking Seigi. Moving it to the left might not have been the most tactical option, but it mimicked Seigi, and the chairman noticed it, ticking him off. 'Good,' thought Byakuro.

"I call Neon (7000) and attack your vanguard, its skill lets him gets 3000 power (10000 to 7000)," said Byakuro while Neon shot a bullet composed of mana at Daibrave.

"Damage check," said Seigi before damage checking a Dailander from the top card of his deck.

"My vanguard also attacks yours (7000 to 7000)," said Byakuro resting his Bolt Line as it proceeded to jump, preparing to land a hit on Daibrave.

"I guard with my Daibattler (7000 to 17000)," said Seigi putting the mentioned card onto the guardian circle.

"Drive check, a critical trigger, all effects to my vanguard (12000 to 17000)," said Byakuro before adding the trigger to his hand.

Bolt Line retreated when Daibattler appeared in front of it.

**"Turn end."**

**Seigi-Byakuro**

**4-hand-6**

**0/1-damage-0/0**

**0-soul-0**

**1-drop-0**

**Daimagnum, empty-Neon, empty**

**empty, Daibrave-Bolt Line, empty**

**empty, empty-empty, Robin**

"My turn," said Seigi. "I draw." He paused to look at the card in his hand, and slowly smiled. "My avatar, fight against injustice and defend the weak, I ride, Dimension Robo, Kaizard!" he shouted. "You who broke the rules, I'll make sure that Justice is done!"

END


End file.
